


Out Of The Woods

by Luna0603



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: AU, Camp Know Where (Stranger Things), F/M, Friendship, Mileven, Original Characters - Freeform, Summer Camp, Summer Love, camp counselors, modern day AU, science camp
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-09
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 18
Words: 93,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27473461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna0603/pseuds/Luna0603
Summary: AU set in modern times. Dustin convinced Mike to be a camp counselor with him at Camp Know Where, where he meets fellow counselor El Ives from Chicago. New faces, personal struggles, and insecurities fill the six weeks at camp. Where will Mike and El end up when camp comes to an end?
Relationships: Dustin Henderson/Suzie, Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I am still relatively new to AO3 and am finishing up the process of moving my stories from fanfiction.net over to this site as well. This is the most recent story that I finished on FF.net. Moving forward, I will post all new content on both AO3 and FF, so feel free to read it on either site or both :) I hope you enjoy this one!

“I can’t wait to see you, Suzie-Poo,” Dustin gushed in the front seat of his mother’s car.

“I can’t wait to see you either, Dusty-Bun,” Suzie’s voice filled the car.

When Dustin had insisted on facetiming his girlfriend with forty-five minutes left of their car ride, Mike had practically begged his friend to use headphones. To Mike’s disappointment, Dustin had refused, insisting that headphones somehow make voices sound different, and he wanted his conversation with Suzie to be authentic. So, Mike had endured nearly thirty minutes of listening to the two lovebirds swoon over how much they missed each other and what a romantic summer they were going to have.

Mike rolled his eyes when Dustin and Suzie exchanged “I love you”s for probably the hundredth time, and he opened Instagram on his phone, hoping to scroll aimlessly and tune out his friend’s conversation for the remaining fifteen minutes.

It’s not that Mike wasn’t happy for Dustin. Of course he was. When Dustin had returned from Camp Know Where last summer, he was head over heels for this Suzie girl. Mike had originally thought it would fade out and that there was no way Dustin and Suzie would last because of the distance between Indiana and Utah. He was proven wrong as Dustin and Suzie persisted through constant texting and snapchatting and, of course, their daily facetime dates. Sure, Mike was happy that his friend was happy. But that didn’t mean that he was particularly thrilled about the idea of six weeks of hearing “Dusty-Bun” and “Suzie-Poo” go gaga over each other.

As he was scrolling through his Instagram newsfeed, Mike was hardly paying attention until one photo in particular caught his eye. His thumb halted its movement as he stared at his phone screen. Looking back at him was a photo of a petite blonde girl with ocean-blue eyes and the biggest smile he had ever seen on her face. She was being held around the waist by Troy, the quarterback of their high school football team and Mike’s childhood bully, while he kissed her cheek. The caption below the photo read “happy one month to this guy,” and then some cliché crap about how much he makes her smile and here’s to many more months.

Mike scoffed but did not move on from the photo. One month? That means it was just over a month ago when she ended things with Mike due to her newly increasing social status at school. Never mind the two years of his life that Mike had given her, all the tests he had helped her study for and ace, the hours he had spent carrying her shopping bags through the mall, the chick flicks he had let her drag him to, all the kisses and firsts they had shared together. When she made the cheerleading squad during spring tryouts, all of that seemed to fly out the window. Suddenly, all she cared about was her raising social status, her new popular friends, and getting invited to parties with the cool crowd. These were all things she had never experienced before, and Mike never knew she had thought she was missing out. He learned real quick how wrong he had been.

“Mike! You alive back there?” Dustin called over his shoulder.

“Unfortunately,” Mike deadpanned.

“What’s the matter with you?” Dustin asked.

“Nothing, it’s just…” Mike sighed, still looking at the photo on his phone. “Stephanie posted on Instagram. I guess she’s been with her new boyfriend for a month now.”

“Screw that bitch,” Dustin said with a wave of his hand.

“Dustin!” his mother hissed from the driver’s seat. “Language!”

“Sorry, Mom, but if you knew the whole story of what she did, you would agree that word is warranted,” Dustin explained before turning back to Mike.

“Look, all I’m saying is maybe it’s a good thing that things ended with Stephanie when they did,” Dustin said. “She showed her true colors, and you deserve way better than that.”

“Thanks,” Mike sighed as he closed the Instagram app and laid his phone on his lap.

“Plus, now you’re free to meet someone new. Six weeks with all those female camp counselors,” Dustin wriggled his eyebrows, and Mike rolled his eyes at his friend’s insinuation.

“I don’t think it’s going to work like that for me,” Mike said.

“Why not? I met Suzie at camp last summer, and it has been a dream come true. The same thing could totally happen for you,” Dustin encouraged him.

“I doubt it,” Mike muttered.

Dustin was about to respond, but the entrance sign for Camp Know Where appeared to their right, and as Mrs. Henderson turned onto the long paved lane, Dustin turned back to the front to help guide his mother toward the camp counselor check-in.

Mike leaned his head against the headrest and watched out the window as they slowly drove down the path surrounded by thick lines of full green trees on each side. The deeper into the woods they got, the more peaceful Mike felt the place becoming. Maybe Dustin was right. Not about meeting a new girl, but about talking him in to this whole camp counselor thing in the first place.

After returning from camp last year, all Dustin had been able to talk about – other than Suzie, of course – was the fact that he finally qualified to apply to be a camp counselor for the younger campers. Apparently, the age requirement to be a counselor to the ten-to-thirteen-year-old range of campers was sixteen, and the age requirement to be a counselor to the fourteen-to-fifteen-year-old range of campers was eighteen.

Dustin had tried his hardest to convince Mike, Lucas, and Will to apply to be counselors with him, insisting that it would only deepen their love of science. All three of them had shot Dustin down rather quickly, much to Dustin’s disappointment. However, last month when everything went downhill with Stephanie, Mike reconsidered Dustin’s idea. Getting out of Hawkins for a while would mean Mike would have no chance of running into his ex-girlfriend or the meathead she left him for. Plus, it would get him out of the house, and as Mike was seeing now as they drove deep into the woods, cell service was bound to be spotty, so he was very likely not to be bothered by the outside world. Maybe six weeks in the woods with one of his best friends and a bunch of little kids excited about science would be just what Mike needed.

Up front, Dustin directed his mother around another curve, and then the lane they were driving on opened up into a parking lot where Mrs. Henderson parked the car. Dustin hopped out of the car and yanked open Mike’s car door right as Mike was reaching for the handle. Mike stepped out next to his friend, and Dustin put an arm around his shoulders, patting his shoulder as he used his other arm to dramatically gesture toward the clearing beyond the parking lot.

“Behold!” Dustin said with a sweeping movement of his arm. “Our domain for the next six weeks!”

“Domain?” Mike repeated, amused.

“Yes, Michael, domain,” Dustin replied. “We’re the camp counselors. We’re in charge here. We are the ones responsible for molding the young minds who come here.”

Mike nodded and looked around. At the edge of the parking lot was a check-in table under a banner that read “Welcome Counselors!”. Beyond that in the grassy clearing was a tall flagpole flying the American flag in front of a large wooden building with a sign in front which read Administration Hall. Along the edge of the clearing were several paths leading into the woods and wooden signs with arrows pointing in the directions of several locations. The sign in front of the path farthest to the left simply read Boys Cabins. Another path had a sign in front that read Classroom A and Classroom B. The next path was behind a sign reading Physical Activity, Lake, Volleyball Court, Basketball Court. Next was a path with a sign which simply read Cafeteria. Then Classroom C and Classroom D. Finally, the path farthest to the right was accompanied by a sign reading Girls Cabins.

“You boys should get your things and head up there before the line gets much longer,” Mrs. Henderson suggested from where she stood by the trunk of the car.

Dustin and Mike each grabbed their suitcase from the opened trunk. Mrs. Henderson pulled Dustin into a tight hug, careful not to let it last too long so as not to embarrass her son too much.

“Thanks for the ride, Mrs. Henderson,” Mike said as the woman gave him a brief hug.

“You’re welcome. After you check in, you should call your parents and let them know you made it. You probably won’t have very good service on your cell phone, but if you have some change, there is a payphone in the admin hall,” Mrs. Henderson said matter-of-factly as she pointed toward the wooden building.

“They still have a payphone?” Mike asked, scrunching his forehead.

“Just for us peasant counselors and campers,” Dustin explained. “Their goal is to keep us off the phone as much as possible so we focus on what we’re here to do. So if your cell phone doesn’t work, your only option to call anyone is with the payphone. But the director and assistant director have normal office phones in their offices.”

“Well, you two boys have a wonderful time. I’ll be here to pick you up in six weeks,” Mrs. Henderson smiled.

Mike and Dustin thanked her again and began walking across the parking lot while she drove away. They reached the line for the check-in table, and there were only four people ahead of them.

“How many counselors are there?” Mike asked.

“Ten,” Dustin replied. “Five male and five female.”

Ahead of them stood a girl with her arms crossed, waiting patiently. Her wavy strawberry-blonde hair was pulled completely over her left shoulder. In front of her was a curvy blonde girl scrolling through Instagram and trying to get her newsfeed to refresh despite the poor service. Next, there stood a thin boy with red hair wearing jeans and a polo despite the summer heat. Finally, at the front of the line currently checking in was a petite tan girl with her curly brown hair pulled into a ponytail.

“See anything you like?” Dustin teased quietly as he gestured to the line in front of them.

“Shut up, Dustin,” Mike warned and nudged his friend with his elbow.

“Not the blonde. We don’t need her triggering any PTSD… post traumatic Stephanie disorder,” Dustin couldn’t help laughing at his own joke.

“You really are an ass, you know that?” Mike said through pursed lips.

“All right, all right, I’m sorry,” Dustin surrendered. “I’m just so excited to be back here and for you to meet Suzie, and I just really hope you have a good time whether you meet a girl you like or not.”

“I’m sure I’ll have a good time,” Mike said. “And I can’t wait to meet Suzie. When is she getting here?”

“When I was facetiming her, she had just left the airport,” Dustin said. “So she’ll probably be here within the hour.”

The line moved forward as the ponytailed girl stepped away from the check-in table holding a packet of paperwork and started walking toward the path toward the girls cabins. As the red-haired boy began checking in, a blonde boy with toned but not overly bulky muscles took his place in line behind Dustin and Mike. He was soon followed by a very muscular dark-haired boy, which meant all five male counselors had arrived. Mike heard a soft whistle from behind him, and he glanced over his shoulder to see the dark-haired boy smirking while slowly moving his eyes up and down. Mike followed the boy’s gaze and saw that he was checking out the blonde girl near the front of the line.

The line moved forward again as the red-haired boy walked away from the table with his own paperwork, and Mike heard the dark-haired boy snort.

“Fucking nerd,” he muttered, and Mike knew he was watching the thin redhead who was walking toward the path to the boys cabins.

Mike looked at Dustin out of the corner of his eye, and Dustin rolled his eyes to say that he was thinking the same thing. This guy was not going to be pleasant to be around.

“Hey, man,” they heard the dark-haired boy say.

“What’s up?” the blonde guy right behind them greeted.

“I’m Jason,” said the first guy.

“Eric,” replied the one closest to Mike and Dustin.

“You doing this shit to look good for colleges, too?” Jason asked.

“Pretty much,” Eric chuckled. “I thought I was set with my grades and football, but my mom insisted on using this for volunteering or whatever.”

“Yeah, I told my old man football will have college covered for me, but he made me do this anyway,” Jason said.

“You play football?” Eric asked.

“And baseball,” Jason added.

“Great, the jocks have found each other,” Dustin muttered into Mike’s ear.

Mike clenched his teeth and didn’t respond. There were two of them? Mike had kind of been expecting one jackass to be thrown into the mix. Statistically, there was always that one guy who just had to be there and ruin everything. But two? Mike did not want to spend the next six weeks listening to these guys become bros by talking about sports and most likely objectifying the girls behind their backs. It didn’t particularly help that this was exactly the type of guy that Stephanie left him for. Honestly, what did girls see in these assholes?

“Oooh, well, what do we have here?” Jason’s voice suddenly broke through Mike’s thoughts.

“Holy shit,” Eric added.

Mike glanced over his shoulder and saw them both looking toward the parking lot. He looked that way, too, and what he saw nearly made his heart stop.

Standing next to a dark red minivan was a tan girl with a petite frame and wavy chestnut hair that fell just below her shoulders. She was wearing denim shorts and a simple black tank top which hugged the curves at her waist. Mike watched as the girl hugged the woman who had stepped out of the driver’s seat, and even from so far away, he could see her pearly white smile. She pulled open the sliding door and leaned in to hug another woman before waving goodbye and starting toward the table, pulling her suitcase behind her.

Mike was frozen in place, his eyes wide and his mouth open, as he watched this girl walk across the parking lot. Her sun-kissed skin was glowing, and her chestnut waves bounced with each step she took. Suddenly, she met his eyes, and Mike felt all the blood drain from his body as he held her gaze, unable to move. It was like she was walking directly to him.

“I say again, see anything you like?” Dustin teased.

Mike jumped and looked at his friend, the color coming back to his face as he felt the hot blush creep across his cheeks. 

“I-I-I… I just-”

“You were staring, nay, gawking, my friend,” Dustin interrupted, rather amused by his friend’s stammering.

“She’s beautiful,” Mike breathed, looking back toward the girl who finally reached the end of the line.

When she reached the end of the line, El stopped behind a muscular boy with dark hair who immediately held out his hand and introduced himself as Jason.

“Hi Jason, I’m El. It’s nice to meet you,” she replied politely, shaking his hand.

“I’m Eric,” said the blonde boy next to Jason.

“Nice to meet you,” El repeated.

“Are you from around here?” Jason asked.

“No, I actually came down from Chicago,” El replied.

The drive from Chicago to Camp Know Where, which rested just on the Indiana side of the Indiana-Illinois border, had taken just under three hours that morning, which had given El plenty of time to try and convince herself that she would have a good time. El didn’t particularly want to spend six weeks of her summer being a camp counselor at a science camp. Not that she wasn’t smart in school, but math and science were not subjects that El enjoyed as much as history, English, and the arts.

El’s aunt Becky had strongly encouraged El to volunteer as a camp counselor. Becky had argued that not only would it look good on college applications, but it would strengthen her resume in general, and it would be a good way to get out of the house and enjoy nature and meet new people her own age. El had firmly said no, stating that she would rather stay at home this summer and work longer shifts at the diner where she was a server so she could start saving for college and help Becky with the household expenses. Becky insisted that the household expenses were not El’s responsibility and that El should take advantage of summer breaks while she still had them. After days of back and forth, El finally broke down and admitted to Becky that she felt scared and guilty at the idea of leaving her mama behind for six weeks. 

Terry had been in an accident six months after El was born, leaving her with a traumatic brain injury and in need of constant care. Becky insisted from the beginning that Terry and El live with her, and Becky had a nurse who came by the house three times per week. While El knew many of her mother’s expenses were covered by the settlement she had been awarded after the accident, El still felt guilty that her aunt’s life had been uprooted and she had been forced to raise her niece since infancy. El wanted to give back to her aunt, but Becky insisted on El having as normal of a life as possible.

So, El had given in and applied to be a camp counselor at Camp Know Where, where she knew absolutely no one. In a way, El was looking forward to being surrounded by people her own age that didn’t know her. At her school in Chicago, she wasn’t exactly the coolest person. She had a few friends, but she was by no means popular. El felt fortunate that she wasn’t unpopular enough to ever be a target of bullying either. Essentially, she was a wallflower. But here, no one knew her. Maybe this would be a good opportunity to make some more friends. It would make the six weeks more enjoyable.

“Chicago, huh? Cubs or White Sox?” Jason asked.

“I don’t really care that much about sports,” El admitted.

“What’s your favorite place in Chicago?” Eric asked.

“I try to stay away from the touristy areas, but I really do like the Adler Planetarium,” El replied.

“Me too! I spent hours there when I went to Chicago last year,” Eric said. “I think astronomy is really cool.”

“So do I. Did you go in the Atwood Sphere and learn about the constellations?” El asked, her hazel eyes sparkling with her smile.

“Yeah, that was my favorite part,” Eric said, flashing her a wide grin of his own.

Mike turned back toward the front of the line, turning his back to what was happening between Eric and the girl who he heard was named El. The line had continued to move, and now the girl with the strawberry-blonde hair was checking in, which meant Mike was next. 

“When do you think you’re going to make your move?” Dustin asked quietly.

“What move?” Mike asked.

“Um, hello? Your move on the girl you couldn’t take your eyes off of!” Dustin said.

“You mean the girl that’s currently bonding over outer space with the blonde-haired, blue eyed athlete behind us? He’s an athlete, and apparently he actually has a brain. I can’t compete with that,” Mike said bitterly.

Dustin frowned at the sad expression on Mike’s face.

“Stop being so hard on yourself,” Dustin said. “So they’re talking about one thing they both happen to like in Chicago. Big deal. Introduce yourself to her and let her see what a great guy you are, and I bet six weeks from now, we’ll have to pry you two off each other when it’s time to leave. That’s what happened to me and Suzie!”

Almost as if on cue, there was a loud gasp followed by a high-pitched squeal of “Dusty-Bun!” coming from the parking lot. Everyone in line turned to see a dark-haired girl with glasses running across the parking lot, pulling her suitcase behind her as her Uber pulled away.

“Suzie-Poo!” Dustin exclaimed, his entire face lighting up at the sight of his girlfriend who he had not seen in person for nearly an entire year.

Suzie sprinted toward Dustin’s outstretched arms and jumped into them, letting her suitcase fall to the ground behind her. Dustin squeezed her tightly and planted kiss after kiss to her temples, cheeks, and forehead before landing on her lips.

“I’m so happy you’re here. I’ve missed you so much,” Dustin said, releasing Suzie from his embrace but holding onto both of her hands.

“I’ve missed you too,” Suzie said through the smile that took up her entire face.

“How cute. Nerds in love,” Jason smirked toward Eric and El before turning toward Dustin and Suzie. “Back of the line, Suzie-Poo. You and Dusty-Bun here are holding everyone up.”

“Excuse me, but don’t tell me girlfriend what to do. And it’s just Suzie and Dustin to you,” Dustin said, narrowing his eyes.

“I’m thorry, Thuzie and Duthtin?” Jason repeated, mocking Dustin’s minor lisp.

Dustin’s eyes fell to the ground in embarrassment, and Mike felt his blood begin to boil. He clenched his fists and opened his mouth to say something, when someone else beat him to it.

“Leave them alone. They’re obviously happy to see each other, and they aren’t hurting anyone,” El said firmly, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked over at Suzie. “Suzie, I don’t mind if you cut in line a little bit. I have plenty of time.”

“Thank you,” Suzie smiled at El.

Suzie and Dustin turned back toward the front of the line, ignoring the shocked look on Jason’s face. Mike met El’s hazel eyes and gave her a small smile and nod of appreciation for standing up for his friend, and then he turned toward the front of the line as well.

Mike smiled happily to himself. It seemed like El was not impressed with Jason at all. He was sure that Jason had been expecting to flaunt his muscles, talk about sports, and make her laugh by tearing down the nerds at science camp. It probably worked on most girls that Jason went after. Mike couldn’t help but feel thrilled that El wasn’t like that.

When the girl in front of them finished, Mike stepped forward to check in and receive his paperwork and camp information. He stepped to the side to wait for Dustin and Suzie, and Mike felt a pair of eyes on him. He glanced up to see El looking at him, and she quickly looked away when he met her stare.

“Mike, do you want to walk with us to the female counselors’ cabin to drop off Suzie’s stuff before taking ours to our cabin?” Dustin asked when he and Suzie joined Mike.

“Actually, I want to wait for her,” Suzie interjected and gestured toward El. “She stood up for us, and I don’t want to leave her alone with those two cretins.”

Suzie saw Mike looked rather taken aback by her choice of words, and she chuckled.

“I know it was just the one guy who said anything, but I just feel like that blonde one isn’t any better,” she explained.

“Sure, we can wait for her,” Dustin said, wrapping his arm around Suzie’s shoulders. “I’m sure Mike would really like that, wouldn’t you, Mike?”

“Uh, y-yeah, yeah sure. We can wait. Yeah, if that’s what you want to do, that’s fine,” Mike stammered as his cheeks blushed pink.

“Does someone have a crush?” Suzie teased quietly, her eyes widening.

“What? No. I don’t have a crush on her. I haven’t even said one word to her,” Mike replied.

He was slightly surprised that Suzie was already teasing him so comfortably, but on the other hand, in the brief time since he had met her, Mike felt like he was really going to like Dustin’s girlfriend, so he let her teasing slide.

Eric finished checking in and waited for Jason to check in as well before the two of them started toward the path leading to the boys cabins. As they passed, Jason shot a seething glare toward Dustin and Suzie, and Mike rolled his eyes.

“I understand why the blonde guy is here. It sounds like he actually has a nerdy side to him, I guess. But what is that asshole doing as a counselor at a science camp?” Mike asked in reference to Jason.

“He’s probably leading the physical activity portion for the kids,” Dustin replied. “The ten counselors are paired up, one guy and one girl, so there are five sets of counselors. Four of those pairs lead the kids in the academic portions, and the fifth pair is strictly here for physical activity. So that asshole is probably here for that.”

“They’ll explain the pairing up and everything else a lot better during the welcome presentation this afternoon,” Suzie added.

“Welcome presentation?” Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

“Yeah. After we all get settled into our cabins, there’s a welcome presentation for the counselors where the director and assistant director explain the whole agenda for the next six weeks. All the way from setup and training week, which is this week, until the end,” Suzie explained.

Mike nodded and opened his mouth to respond, but then he saw that El had finished checking in and was walking their way pulling her suitcase behind her.

“Hey!” Suzie exclaimed and waved at El. “I wanted to thank you again for stepping in earlier.”

“No problem,” El shrugged. “That guy had no reason to be such a jerk. You were clearly just excited to see your boyfriend.”

“I’m Suzie, by the way,” Suzie said, realizing they had not formally introduced themselves.

“I’m El,” El smiled.

“This is my boyfriend Dustin, and this is Dustin’s friend Mike,” Suzie pointed at the two boys next to her, and El shook Dustin’s hand and then reached out to shake Mike’s.

As soon as Mike’s hand closed around hers, El felt shocks ripple up her arm. She looked up and met his dark eyes, and El found herself speechless. Suzie’s voice faded into the background, and it took a couple moments for El to realize that she had been shaking Mike’s hand and staring at him for longer than was acceptable.

Say something! she scolded herself.

“It’s nice to meet you, Mike,” El choked out slowly.

“Nice to meet you, too, El,” Mike said just as slowly.

“Hello?!” Dustin hollered as he waved his hand up and down between Mike and El.

They both jumped and turned to face Dustin.

“Did you guys not hear anything Suzie was just saying?” Dustin asked.

“Uh – um – er” Mike and El both started stammering, much to Dustin’s amusement as he watched both of their faces turn pink.

“Suzie was just saying that we can all four walk to the girls cabin and drop of Suzie and El’s stuff then go drop of our stuff at the boys cabin and then head back to the admin hall for the welcome presentation,” Dustin recapped, still smirking at Mike and El.

“Oh, yeah! That sounds good to me. Does that, uh, sound good to you?” Mike looked at El.

“Definitely,” El agreed.

There was a brief silence as El finally looked down at her right hand to see it still joined with Mike’s from when they started shaking hands. She started to pull her hand back, and Mike instantly dropped it.

“Oh, shit, I’m sorry,” he said, blushing even harder.

“It’s okay,” El smiled.

“Guys, can we please get going?” Dustin asked.

Soon, the four of them were walking down the path toward the girls cabins to find the female counselors’ cabin. When they reached the cabin, Suzie and El went inside to drop off their luggage, and Dustin and Mike waited outside.

“So,” Dustin began, a smirk on his lips and his eyebrows raised. “Rethinking what you said about making your move on El?”

“Shut up,” Mike mumbled, but he couldn’t stop himself from blushing and smiling.

“Oh my god, you can’t even think about her with a straight face,” Dustin teased him. “You are so falling in love with her.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t even know her. She’s obviously pretty, but…” Mike trailed off.

“But nothing, my friend,” Dustin said, clapping Mike on the shoulder. “You have got it bad for our new friend from Chicago, and if I interpreted that insanely prolonged handshake correctly, she’s got it bad for you, too.”

“You don’t know that,” Mike said, shaking his head.

“You don’t know what?” Suzie’s voice chimed in, and Mike and Dustin turned to see the girls rejoining them.

“Uh, nothing. Not important,” Mike said quickly. “Ready to go?”

Dustin grabbed his suitcase in one hand and took Suzie’s hand with his other and shot Mike a knowing look before turning around to lead the group back up the path. Mike chuckled to himself and turned to glance at El, only to find her already looking at him with a dreamy expression on her face. He smiled at her, and the two of them followed side-by-side behind Dustin and Suzie. 

Mike snuck another glance at El out of the corner of his eye, and he started to think to himself that maybe Dustin was on to something after all. Only time would tell, of course, but luckily, they had the next six weeks ahead of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Mike, Dustin, El, and Suzie walked into the administration hall after dropping off Mike and Dustin’s luggage in their cabin, and they followed the signs that read Camp Counselor Welcome Meeting. They ended up in a conference room with three tables arranged in a U-shape facing a podium. The four of them took their seats, and Mike felt butterflies flutter in his stomach when El sat next to him instead of sitting next to Suzie like he had been expecting her to.

The four of them were sitting in the four chairs at the table facing the podium, leaving the two sides of the U-shape empty, each with three chairs. Over the next several minutes, the other six counselors filed into the room. The skinny red-haired boy came in first and sat in the first open seat at the table nearest Suzie. Next, the girl with wavy strawberry-blonde hair who had been in front of Mike and Dustin in line to check in entered and sat next to the red-haired boy. Jason and Eric entered together, opting to sit in the first two seats at the table closest to El. Finally, the blonde girl entered and sat next to Eric, and the girl with the dark curly ponytail took the remaining empty seat.

Once all ten counselors were seated, several adults entered the room and sat in chairs lined up against the hall near the podium. The final woman to enter walked up to the podium and smiled out at the ten counselors seated in front of her.

“Good morning,” she began. “My name is Katherine White, and I am the director here at Camp Know Where. I want to start by thanking you all for taking time out of your summer break to be here with us for the next six weeks.”

“Camp Know Where was founded in 1964, and this is our fifty-fifth summer of proudly encouraging the love of science in the younger generation,” Katherine continued. “Over the next six weeks, the ten of you will be spending a lot of time together, so before I go any further with expectations, I would like to go around the room so you can each introduce yourselves. If you would simply share your name and where you are from.”

Katherine nodded with a friendly smile toward the girl with the dark curly ponytail, silently asking her to begin.

“Hi, I’m Nikki Collins, and I’m from Fort Wayne, Indiana,” she said with a cheerful grin.

“My name is Kayla Schmidt, and I’m from Gary, Indiana,” said the strawberry-blonde girl softly, not making eye contact with anyone.

“I’m Tom Williams. I’m from Indianapolis, and I am very excited to be here,” said the red-haired boy in a chipper tone. El shot a glare at Jason when she heard him snort in amusement.

“My name is Suzie Arnold, and I’m from Salt Lake City, Utah,” Suzie smiled, and she giggled at the looks of surprise on several of her fellow counselors.

“Dustin Henderson, at your service. Hawkins, Indiana,” Dustin announced.

“I’m Mike Wheeler, also from Hawkins, Indiana,” Mike said.

“My name is El Ives, and I’m from Chicago, Illinois,” El smiled politely.

“I’m Jason Reynolds. South Bend, Indiana,” Jason said, and El resisted rolling her eyes at how smug Jason seemed even during introductions.

“I’m Eric Lawson, and I’m from Bloomington, Indiana,” Eric said.

“My name is Danielle Brady, but you can call me Dani. I’m from Springfield, Illinois,” the blonde girl said as she glanced around the room with a smile, her eyes lingering slightly on Eric next to her.

“Well, once again, I would like to say welcome, and thank you all for being here,” Katherine announced when introductions were over. “Behind me, you see six individuals seated, and I will now allow them each to introduce themselves.”

An African-American man in his late fifties stood and offered the room a welcoming smile.

“I am Ronald Kaufman, the assistant director of Camp Know Where. I am a retired science teacher, and I am proud to be a part of this organization. I’d like to personally say welcome and thank you,” he said before sitting back down.

The woman next to Ronald introduced herself as Angie and explained that she is a trained EMT and works as a high school athletic director during the school year. There were also two men and two women, all in their early twenties, who introduced themselves as the advisors who the camp counselors could go to for advice or assistance throughout the duration of camp.

“Wonderful,” Katherine beamed when everyone had been introduced. “As you look around, you see we have people from all over Indiana and Illinois – and even Utah – and we at Camp Know Where pride ourselves on being the largest and longest-running summer camp in the area. By a show of hands, who here has attended Camp Know Where as a camper?”

Mike and El looked around the room to see Dustin, Suzie, Tom, Kayla, and Eric all raise their hands. Mike pursed his lips in annoyance at Eric. He knew he shouldn’t focus too much on stereotypes, but Mike couldn’t help but feel annoyed that this Eric guy apparently had both a jock side and a smart side. 

“Half of you have camped with us, which means half of you know how we structure things here,” Katherine observed. “So for those who are unfamiliar, we at Camp Know Where host two different age groups. We host the campers aged ten to thirteen first and then we host our fourteen and fifteen-year-olds second. Our younger campers’ itinerary is a bit different from our older campers’ in that we don’t host the ten-to-thirteen-year-olds for a month at a time.”

Mike was not surprised to hear this. He could not imagine many parents being too fond of the idea of their ten-year-old being away at summer camp for an entire month.

“For our younger campers, we host forty campers per week for four weeks,” Katherine explained. “The campers arrive Sunday late afternoon and depart at 7am Saturday morning. Our maintenance and janitorial staff spends all of Saturday and most of Sunday cleaning, sanitizing, and preparing the cabins for our next round of forty campers. The ten of you have no responsibilities on Saturdays. Consider Saturday your day of the week to do your laundry, call your family, relax, get to know each other, or anything else you would like to do with your time.”

El saw Jason’s smug grin out of the corner of her eye as he surveyed the room. She noticed Jason was staring at Nikki and Kayla at the table across from him, and El knew exactly what was on this pervert’s mind regarding how he would prefer to spend his free time.

“Now, forty certainly sounds like a big number of campers,” Katherine continued. “Luckily, we have ten of you. Each week, the ten of you will be paired up into groups of two – one male counselor and one female counselor. Your partner will change weekly so you all have the chance to work together and get to know one another. The only exception, of course, is the two who are in charge of leading the physical activity portion of camp.”

Katherine paused momentarily to lift a page in her notes.

“I have Jason and Nikki as our phys ed counselors,” she said.

Jason and Nikki made eye contact across the room, and El felt a mixture of disgust and pity when she saw Nikki return Jason’s smug smile with a flirty smile of her own.

“The remaining eight of you will rotate partners each week, and each week every pair will be assigned ten campers,” Katherine continued. “In your welcome paperwork, you will find a page with the counselor pairings for each week. You will also find the schedule for the four weeks of camp.”

Katherine paused while the counselors began sifting through their welcome paperwork, looking for the papers she had mentioned.

Mike found the list of counselor pairings and pulled it out. His eyes immediately found his name under the “Week 1” heading, and he saw that his partner for the first week of camp would be Suzie. He looked under “Week 2” and saw that he would be with El next, and a smile automatically crossed Mike’s face. Mike glanced next to him and saw a small smile on El’s lips as well, and he briefly hoped that it was because she was reading the Week 2 pairings too. He shook his head and told himself he was being ridiculous; they still didn’t even know each other.

Next to Mike, Dustin was reading through the same list, and he sighed dramatically.

“I’m not with Suzie until week three!” he whined.

“It’s okay, Dusty-Bun,” Suzie said quietly. “It gives us something to look forward to during the first two weeks.”

“And look forward to it, I will,” Dustin replied. “With you and I leading together, our ten little campers will be the smartest ones at camp.”

Mike heard El chuckle next to him, and he turned to see a soft smile on her face as she was looking over him toward Dustin and Suzie.

“Are they this cute all the time?” El whispered when she saw Mike looking at her.

“Yeah, adorable,” Mike said with a sarcastic chuckle.

El giggled and looked back toward her paperwork. She pulled out the Camp Know Where schedule and looked over it to try and familiarize herself with the structure of the summer camp.

According to the itinerary, breakfast for all campers and counselors was held daily at 9am. Then, the campers were to meet their two counselors in their assigned classrooms to begin their daily lessons. Lesson one was held daily at 10am, and lesson two was held immediately after at 11am. Then, the campers had two hours of lunch and physical education. Groups A and B had P.E. at 12pm and lunch at 1pm, while groups C and D had lunch at 12pm and P.E. at 1pm. Afterward, the campers were all to report back to their classrooms, and lesson three was held at 2pm, and lesson four was held at 3pm. From 4pm until 5pm, the campers and counselors had an hour of free time before dinner was served at 5pm. Then, everyone had free time after dinner until the lights out curfew at 9pm.

Mike read over the agenda and nudged Dustin with his elbow.

“Why is phys ed required at a science camp?” he asked.

“To get the proper funding, the camp had to show that some sort of health and physical education was being implemented, so they threw an hour in the middle of each day for all the campers,” Dustin replied, rolling his eyes. “But it’s not like gym class at school. They let the campers do fun stuff like beach volleyball or swimming in the lake.”

“These daily schedules and weekly counselor pairings begin next week when our first round of campers arrive,” Katherine announced, rerouting everyone’s attention back to herself. “This week is specifically for setup and training. You cannot be expected to lead a classroom of young campers in a week’s worth of scientific experiments and discoveries unless you have done the activities yourselves. So, beginning tomorrow, you will all begin your training week, which will essentially be a mock camp week. You will review the lessons and do the experiments yourselves so you can assist your campers with firsthand knowledge.”

Mike glanced around the room to gauge his fellow counselors’ reactions. Most appeared indifferent, but Tom and Dustin looked particularly excited to relive a week of science camp before being assigned their first group of campers. Mike also had to admit that it sounded fun to go through everything once himself before the young campers arrived. He had always loved science, so practicing experiments of any kind certainly sparked his interest.

Katherine kept the counselors for twenty more minutes while she explained where the laundry facilities were and how to use the payphone in the administration hall. She also went through standard policies like boys and girls were not allowed in each other’s cabins after 9pm or before 9am. Mike heard a grunt of annoyance from Dustin beside him at that particular policy.

As her policy reading went on, some counselors became restless. Jason kept checking the time on his phone and sighing every couple of minutes. Eric was whispering something to Dani that kept making her giggle. Tom and Kayla were both listening intently to everything Katherine was telling them.

Finally, Katherine dismissed them for the evening and reminded them that a welcome bonfire would be held that night beginning at 7pm. The ten counselors began to file out of the room. Dani was laughing at something Eric said while twirling her blonde hair around her fingers, and the two of them walked out of the administration hall together. 

“Hey, Nikki!” Mike heard Jason’s voice from behind them.

Jason jogged by and reached Nikki at the door of the administration building. He extended his hand for Nikki to shake.

“I’m looking forward to working with you this summer,” Jason said.

El rolled her eyes and wondered if his face was just frozen in that smug smirk he seemed to always wear.

“Thanks! It should be a lot of fun,” Nikki smiled.

“Oh, I think we’re going to have a lot of fun,” Jason said with a sly grin.

Dustin impatiently cleared his throat, and Nikki and Jason turned to face Dustin, Mike, Suzie, and El. Nikki immediately realized that she and Jason were blocking the exit, and she stepped back to let the four of them pass.

“Thank you,” Suzie smiled politely at her. “Excuse us.”

The four of them exited the building and walked outside into the grassy clearing. It seemed even hotter outside than it had been earlier in the day, and El instantly bent forward, flipping her brown hair over her head and tying it up into a ponytail. Mike watched her with a small smile on his face and thought to himself how beautiful she looked even doing the most simple, mundane thing. El flipped her ponytail over her head as she stood back up, and her eyes immediately landed on Mike staring at her. He looked away quickly, blushing because she had caught him watching her.

“So, the bonfire is in two hours,” Dustin said, and Mike was thankful that his friend had either not witnessed El catching him staring or that he was merciful enough not to draw attention to it.

“I have a lot of unpacking to do,” Suzie pouted.

“Why don’t we go back to our cabins and unpack, and then we can meet up before the bonfire,” Mike suggested, looking at Suzie and Dustin and deliberately avoiding meeting El’s eyes again.

“That works,” Dustin nodded.

“I’ll miss you,” Suzie said softly, wrapping her arms around Dustin’s neck.

“I’ll miss you too, Suzie-Poo,” Dustin murmured back to her.

Mike looked away while Dustin and Suzie shared several soft pecks. He was looking around awkwardly, still not wanting to look at El again for fear that he would start blushing again. He didn’t want to look at her too much and be obvious, after all.

“So, uh,” Mike said and cleared his throat to interrupt what had become a makeout session for Dustin and Suzie. “Where is this bonfire held?”

“By the lake,” Dustin replied.

“Ooh, wear your swimsuit so we can go swimming,” Suzie requested more to Dustin than the other two.

“That sounds fun,” El chimed in, and Mike instinctively glanced her way to see her looking right at him.

“Yeah, so, uh, cool,” Mike stammered. “We’ll go unpack, and we’ll meet you back here in two hours to head to the lake.”

“Bye Suzie-Poo. I love you,” Dustin said, leaning in for another kiss from his girlfriend.

“Love you too, Dusty-Bun,” Suzie smiled.

El smiled and waved goodbye to Mike and Dustin as she and Suzie headed toward the path leading to their cabin.

“So,” Dustin started as he and Mike walked into the woods.

Mike groaned. Dustin had seen Mike staring at El after all. And he had probably also seen El catch Mike staring at her and Mike turning all red, too. 

“I know what you’re gonna say, Dustin, and I wasn’t, like, staring staring at her… I was just looking her direction, and then she caught me. And obviously when a girl catches you looking at her, you’re gonna turn red. Especially when the girl is that pretty,” Mike rambled on quickly.

“Mike,” Dustin interjected with an amused look on his face. “I was just going to ask you what you think of Suzie now that you’ve officially met her and spent some time with her.”

“O-oh,” Mike said quietly, his cheeks blushing because of his outburst. “Um, Suzie seems great.”

“Suzie is great, but that’s not the point now. Holy shit, dude! You still want to say you don’t have a huge crush on El?” Dustin exclaimed.

“Dustin,” Mike sighed. “She’s so pretty. Everything she does, she’s beautiful. But I barely know anything about her, so you can’t really call that a crush.”

“Are we or are we not meeting up with her in two hours to go to a bonfire by the lake?” Dustin asked.

“We are,” Mike answered quietly.

“And do you or do you not want to see her in a bikini?” Dustin continued.

“Dustin,” Mike warned firmly, glaring at his friend.

“Okay, look. She seems like a nice girl, and whether you let yourself see it or not, it looks like she is as interested in you as you are in her,” Dustin said. “Just talk to her. Get to know her. She’s here to be a counselor, so I guarantee there’s a nerdy side to her hidden somewhere. You guys will have all sorts of things to talk about in no time.”

“I don’t know,” Mike sighed, shaking his head. “What if she’s just being a counselor to look good for colleges? Girls…”

“Girls what?” Dustin asked.

Mike stopped walking and paused for a moment while Dustin waited patiently.

“Girls that pretty just aren’t in to nerdy guys,” Mike admitted.

Dustin raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“First of all, Suzie is gorgeous, and she loves me, and I am just as big of a nerd as you are, if not bigger,” he said firmly. “Second, you are getting yourself down because of what Stephanie said when she broke up with you, and you cannot let her speak for all girls, Mike.”

Mike and Dustin started walking again, and they were silent while Mike thought over Dustin’s words. He finally nodded as they reached the male counselors’ cabin.

“I guess you’re right,” Mike relented.

“Of course I am,” Dustin said. “Now let’s unpack and get back to the girls.”

Inside the cabin were three bunkbeds. When Mike and Dustin had gotten there earlier in the afternoon, they had put their luggage on the bunkbed on the farthest side of the cabin from the front door and nearest to the bathroom. Dustin had volunteered to take the top bunk, which left Mike happily with the bottom bunk.

They opened the door to see all three of their cabinmates also unpacking. Mike and Dustin crossed the room to their bunkbeds and both unzipped their suitcase, laying them side-by-side on Mike’s bottom bunk while they unpacked.

“You’re smoother than I gave you credit for when I first met you,” Jason was saying to Eric. “But first you hit it off with that chick from Chicago, and now the blonde girl with the big boobs. Impressive.”

Mike clenched his jaw when he heard Jason talking about El. If Dustin noticed, he gave no sign.

“Smart girls like smart guys,” Eric shrugged smugly. “But you’ll probably hit it off with Nikki. You’ll be spending the whole camp with her.”

“Oh, definitely,” Jason scoffed. “I bet I’ll fuck her by the end of this week before the campers even get here.”

Mike shook his head in disgust. He knew Jason and Eric were both forced into this by their parents for college applications, and he even begrudgingly accepted that Eric was a smart guy despite his status as a jock. But this was science camp. He was supposed to be away from assholes like them.

“Don’t worry. Once camp gets going, you’ll barely even be around them except for curfew,” Dustin said quietly as if reading Mike’s mind.

“Good,” Mike whispered back.

“Don’t forget to change into your swim trunks for tonight so we can jump in the lake,” Dustin said, pulling his own out of his suitcase.

Mike’s face fell. He looked down at his thin body that was currently covered in a t-shirt and khaki cargo shorts. Mike pictured himself in his swim trunks that ended just above his knobby knees. His skinny, pasty white torso and his long noodle arms would be out in the open for El and everyone to see.

“Mike, you brought swim trunks, didn’t you?” Dustin asked after Mike had been silent for several moments.

“Y-yeah. Yeah, I did,” Mike replied.

“Great. Just checking,” Dustin said. “I’m gonna go change.”

Dustin hurried into the bathroom with his swim trunks in his hand, and Mike laid his own trunks on his bed while he zipped his empty suitcase closed and tucked it underneath the bunkbed. Mike stared at the swimsuit laying on the blanket of his bed and considered just shoving them into a drawer and telling Dustin they don’t fit right anymore or something.

“Your turn. Go change so we can go meet the girls,” Dustin said as he rejoined Mike at the side of their bunkbed.

Dustin was now dressed in his swim trunks, a t-shirt, and tennis shoes. He pulled out a drawstring bag and started shoving two towels into it. Mike slowly picked up his swim trunks and walked into the bathroom to change. He took a deep breath as he pulled the trunks up his long legs. Just because he was wearing swim trunks didn’t mean he would have to swim. Besides, maybe El would change her mind about swimming in the lake and let Dustin and Suzie have their own time. Or maybe Mike would have El so enthralled in conversation that swimming would completely slip her mind. He decided to try and make that his plan.

Mike exited the bathroom in his swim trunks and a t-shirt and pulled on his tennis shoes, ready to leave with Dustin. The two of them were the last two to leave the cabin, and they made their way up the path to meet Suzie and El.

The boys heard Suzie squeal as soon as they came in to view. Dustin and Suzie greeted each other with a kiss while Mike offered El a friendly smile and hello. El’s hair had been pulled into a braid that rested over her left shoulder, and she had changed from her shorts and black tank top into a yellow sundress that Mike assumed was easier to slip on and off over a swimsuit. Of course, she looked breathtaking, but Mike couldn’t tell her that.

“You…” he started. You look pretty. You look nice. You are beautiful. “You changed.”

Mike cringed at what came out of his mouth. El giggled and twirled side to side so her dress flowed around her legs.

“I did,” she chuckled. “Do you like it?”

“L-like it? Um, oh, yeah! Yeah. Yellow is… i-it’s good. It looks – er – y-you look… It’s nice,” Mike stammered. His face felt as if it were actually on fire, and he wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole and die there.

“Thank you,” El smiled, trying not to laugh at Mike’s nervous rambling that she actually found quite cute.

“You two ready?” Dustin asked, and Mike and El both nodded.

Suzie and El began to lead down the path toward the lake, and Dustin hung back and clapped Mike’s shoulder.

“Smooth,” he whispered into Mike’s ear, an amused smirk on his face.

“Shut up,” Mike muttered.

“I think you can recover,” Dustin said, making sure to follow far enough behind the girls to remain out of earshot.

“Then you must not have heard how stupid I sounded back there,” Mike snorted.

“Au contraire, my friend,” Dustin said. “I did hear just how stupid you sounded when she asked if you liked her dress. I also saw her smile politely and thank you after you mumbled out whatever that was. She’s definitely interested. Now you just need to talk to her at the bonfire. Do you think you can form coherent sentences for a couple hours?”

“I hope so,” Mike sighed.

“You can do it,” Dustin urged him.

When the four of them reached their destination, the other six counselors were already gathered around the bonfire. Jason and Nikki were each sitting in lawn chairs next to each other, Dani and Eric were sitting close together on a log while Eric talked and Dani hung on his every word, Tom was sitting in a chair opposite Jason and Nikki, and Kayla was sitting on a rock near the lake away from everyone else and dipping her feet in the water. The four advisors were there and were the ones grilling burgers and hot dogs for everyone.

Mike, Dustin, El, and Suzie greeted the advisors and waved to their fellow counselors. Dustin immediately pulled Suzie away from the crowd with some excuse about Suzie being sensitive to campfire smoke. That left Mike and El standing together, which Mike knew was Dustin’s plan. Mike nervously looked at El, and he did not look away when she met his gaze and offered that pearly white smile of hers.

“Do you want to go sit by the water?” El asked, gesturing toward the lake.

Mike’s heartrate must have doubled in the seconds following El’s simple question. He steadied his breathing, hoping she didn’t notice how nervous he was.

“Yeah, okay,” he nodded.

Mike and El walked toward the lake and sat on a rock about twenty feet from Kayla so no one was in earshot besides the two of them. El kicked off her sandals and dipped her feet into the lake, gasping at the initial contact of the cold water on her skin.

“Is it cold?” Mike asked.

“It’s not so bad after a moment,” El shrugged.

Mike took his shoes off and let his feet slide into the water next to her. They sat in silence for several moments, just looking out over the lake as a haze began to fill the air while the sun started to set.

“So, are you excited for training week?” El asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

“Yeah, I think it will be cool to do all the experiments ourselves,” Mike replied honestly.

“Me too,” El agreed. “I never went to summer camp – science, or any other type of camp – so it will be fun to see what it’s all about.”

“Definitely,” Mike nodded. “So, what made you decide to be a camp counselor if you’ve never been to camp?”

“It’s kind of a long story,” El sighed. “The short version is that my aunt thinks it will strengthen my college applications and it will give me a chance to get out of the house and meet more people my age. What about you? I didn’t see you raise your hand when she asked who had been here before either.”

“Dustin actually convinced me,” Mike replied. “He’s been coming here as a camper since he was ten, and last summer he was so excited that he would qualify to be a counselor this year. He tried to talk the whole party into it, but I’m the only one he convinced.”

“Party?” El asked, scrunching her forehead in confusion.

Mike kicked himself internally for referring to his friends as the party instead of just his friends. There’s no way this girl would think there was anything cool about D&D references.

“Oh, it’s just the guys we hang out with. There’s me, Dustin, Will, and Lucas, and then Lucas’s girlfriend Max comes around too,” Mike explained, hoping El didn’t push it any further.

“Do you all five hang out a lot?” El asked, and Mike saw the curiosity light up in her eyes.

“Yeah, we do. Practically every day,” he replied.

“It’s really cool that you have a close group of friends like that,” El said, and Mike sensed almost a tone of sadness in her voice.

“Yeah, they’re great. I don’t know what I’d do without them,” Mike said. “But, I’m sure you feel that way about your group of friends, too.”

El’s face fell and she looked down at the water that she was splashing around with her foot.

“I don’t exactly have a group of friends back home,” she said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, furrowing his own brow in confusion.

“I mean, I have a couple friends that I talk to at school and do things with sometimes, but I’m not a part of any group. Most people at my school don’t even know I exist. I’m basically a nobody,” El explained.

“I find that hard to believe,” Mike said before he could stop himself.

El raised her eyebrows as she looked at him, surprised.

“Why is that?” she asked.

“W-well, i-it’s just that…” Mike took a deep breath to steady his racing heart and hoped he didn’t sound like too much of an idiot. “I mean, they don’t know what they’re missing out on. I’ve only known you since this afternoon, and I think you’re pretty cool.”

El smiled softly at him which made Mike’s cheeks turn a light pink that she luckily could not see as the sun dropped further behind the trees.

“Thanks. I think you’re pretty cool, too, Mike,” El said.

Mike looked down at the rock they were sitting on and noticed his fingers were resting a mere inch from El’s. He took a deep breath and looked back into her eyes, slowly moving his fingers closer to hers.

Just then, one of the advisors hollered from the bonfire that the food was ready, and Mike and El were both startled and pulled back to reality.

“Um… do you, uh, want to go get a burger or something?” Mike asked.

“Y-yeah. I’m kind of hungry,” El grinned.

They rose from the rock they were sitting on and joined their fellow counselors around the fire to enjoy burgers and hot dogs. The four of them actually enjoyed getting to know a bit about the other counselors, but they all saw Jason dramatically roll his eyes to make Nikki giggle each time Tom would say something nerdy. Mike and Dustin both silently came to the conclusion that Tom was an even bigger nerd than both of them.

When everyone had finished eating, the advisors brought out marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers so everyone could make s’mores. While others were toasting their marshmallows over the fire, Dustin thrusted his stick directly into the fire and lifted his marshmallow up which had become a ball of flames.

“What are you doing?” asked Kayla who had been quiet and reserved all night.

“It’s just how he eats marshmallows,” Mike tried to shrug off the question.

“Because it’s the best way,” Dustin said. “Catch it on fire, burn it to a crisp on the outside before putting it into your s’more. Perfectly crispy on the outside, warm and gooey on the inside.”

Suzie beamed proudly as if Dustin had just explained something far more groundbreaking than why he catches marshmallows on fire, and El chuckled at her new friend’s explanation.

After s’mores, the advisors announced that they were leaving for the night and would be in their cabins. The advisors explained that the curfew does not apply to the welcome bonfire, but that the counselors should consider going to bed soon to be well-rested for their early start to training week in the morning.

Tom followed the advisors’ suggestion, stating that he wanted to get a good night’s sleep. He waved everyone good night and walked away from the bonfire. Kayla was next to stand and excuse herself for the night.

“Wait, I’ll walk with you,” Dani called from the log she was sharing with Eric.

Eric frowned and asked Dani to stay a little longer, saying that he would walk her back to her cabin later. Dani apologized and said she was tired after the long drive that morning. After Dani left the bonfire, Mike noticed how Eric’s eyes were drawn more toward El than they had been all night, and Mike clenched his jaw and reminded himself that he and El had been having great conversation all night.

“Well, this has been fun,” Dustin announced as if he were about to suggest turning in for the night, too.

“Dusty-Bun, what happened to swimming in the lake?” Suzie reminded him sweetly.

Mike deflated. He thought he had made it through the whole bonfire without swimming being brought up.

“Are you still up for it?” Dustin asked, and Suzie nodded excitedly.

Suzie took off her glasses and tossed aside her shorts and tank top to reveal a blue one-piece swimsuit. Dustin quickly discarded his t-shirt, and the two of them ran to the lake.

“Do you want to swim?” El asked, looking up at Mike.

Mike swallowed hard. He didn’t want to tell her no, but he thought about his pale, skinny body literally glowing in the dark.

Suddenly, Nikki stood up and tossed off her clothes, revealing a red bikini. Lust flashed in Jason’s eyes as he looked her up and down.

“Are you coming?” Nikki asked.

“I’m not wearing my trunks,” Jason said.

Nikki shrugged and sprinted toward the lake. Jason watched her tan body enter the water and instantly stood up. He stripped himself of his shirt and shorts, standing in only his boxer briefs.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Mike muttered under his breath.

“Screw it,” Jason mumbled as he kicked his clothes to the side. He jogged toward the lake, his muscles practically shining in the moonlight.

“Mike?” El said, jerking his attention back to her. “Let’s get in the lake. It’ll be fun.”

She smiled as she stood up and lifted her yellow dress over her head. Mike’s eyes bulged in his head and his mouth dropped open when he saw El standing in front of him wearing a white bikini that stood out in contrast to her tan skin. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Mike saw Eric stand from where he was sitting and take off his t-shirt to reveal his own toned chest and stomach. Mike looked from Eric to over El’s shoulder where Jason and his muscles were dripping wet while he picked Nikki up and tossed her into the water while she shrieked and giggled. His eyes landed back on El who was standing in front of him looking so perfect and waiting so patiently for him to answer her.

“I…” he started. “Sorry, I’m… I’m pretty tired. I’m gonna call it a night.”

Mike looked down when he saw the disappointment on El’s face.

“Have fun, though,” he said before turning away to walk back to the cabin.

“Race you to the water?” Mike heard Eric offer from the distance behind him.

Mike squeezed his eyes shut at the image of Eric and El running to the water together, but he did not turn around to see if it was happening. He couldn’t bear to see it happen in front of him. 

“It was too good to be true,” Mike whispered to himself as his mind repeated his earlier sentiment that girls as pretty as El aren’t in to guys as nerdy as him. Whatever he thought he had felt that afternoon or that evening by the lake, it must have been in his head.

When Mike reached the cabin, Tom was quietly snoring. Mike changed quickly and laid down, the image of El’s sweet smile taunting him until he fell asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Mike and Dustin were walking from their cabin to classroom A where the counselors were meeting to begin their training week. Mike knew Dustin would be wanting an explanation of why he left the bonfire early, especially after all the encouragement Dustin had given him and how well Mike and El seemed to have been hitting it off. 

“So, what happened to you last night?” Dustin asked, and Mike was not surprised. “And don’t tell me you were just tired. It’s just the two of us.”

“I just… I guess I got scared,” Mike reluctantly admitted. There was no use trying to lie or avoid the question.

“Scared of what?” Dustin asked.

“That the things I was feeling with El were all in my head,” Mike replied. “And that even if she thinks I’m a nice guy or whatever, I can’t compete with those other guys physically. How could I have expected her to be interested in me when there were guys who looked like that?”

“Come on, Mike. Do I look like the most athletic person to you?” Dustin asked and gestured his hands up and down his husky body. “But Suzie loves me anyway. The right girl isn’t going to care how lanky you are or that it looks like your skin hasn’t seen the sun once in sixteen years-”

“Thanks, Dustin,” Mike interjected sarcastically.

“All I’m saying is El doesn’t seem like the superficial type to me. And I know you’re going to say that Stephanie didn’t seem like the superficial type to you either, but you can’t keep using her as a reason to not trust another girl,” Dustin explained. “I really think El likes you and wants to get to know you better.”

“What makes you say that?” Mike asked.

“You mean other than everything I already pointed out to you yesterday?” Dustin quipped. “How about the fact that she was really disappointed when you left last night.”

“She was?” Mike asked, perking up.

“Yeah, she was,” Dustin nodded.

“I heard Eric ask her to race him to the water, so I figured she probably just hung out with him since you and Suzie were together,” Mike said.

“You assume wrong, my friend. She did run into the lake with Eric, probably to be nice, but she hardly paid him any attention after that,” Dustin said. “She laughed a couple times when he splashed her, but she hung close to me and Suzie.”

“Really?” Mike asked, starting to feel relieved.

“Yeah. Jason and Nikki even challenged Eric and El to a chicken fight, and El flat out refused,” Dustin added. “She did not show Eric the time of day, and I’m pretty sure she can’t stand Jason. So she hung out with me and Suzie, and she just seemed like she was sad and confused but was trying to pretend she wasn’t.”

“Oh,” Mike said quietly, the relief changing to guilt. He didn’t mean to make her feel bad.

“You should talk to her,” Dustin suggested. “You don’t want her to start thinking you’re avoiding her.”

Mike nodded and agreed that he would try and talk to her when they reached the classroom. Of course, the universe had different plans.

When Dustin and Mike reached classroom A, they saw Tom, Kayla, Suzie, and El standing along the back of the room. The two of them immediately walked past Tom and Kayla to Suzie and El, and Dustin gave Suzie a good morning peck on the lips.

“Hey,” Mike greeted El with a small smile.

“Hi,” El said simply.

“Look, El, I want to talk to you about last night,” Mike began.

She looked at him with her big hazel eyes, waiting for him to go on. Just then, one of the four advisors strolled into the classroom following Eric and Dani who had joined the group.

“Good morning, counselors!” the female advisor exclaimed in a tone that was much too cheerful for first thing in the morning.

The counselors grumbled a response, except for Tom who promptly responded with a chipper “good morning” of his own. El diverted her eyes to focus on the advisor who was speaking, and Mike knew he would have to wait to talk to her.

“The eight of you will be the camp counselors for our campers starting next week, so this week we are going to put you through the lessons you will be leading,” the advisor explained. “We aren’t going to follow the itinerary exactly, though.”

The advisor, who introduced herself as Mindy, went on to explain that the counselors’ training days would only be four hours long each, just long enough to encompass the four hours of lessons the campers will have. Of course, the counselors did not have to break for phys ed, so they were doing their four hour-long lessons back to back. After which, lunch would be served in the cafeteria, and then the counselors had free time for the remainder of the day. The advisor also explained that while the eight of them were being trained on these lessons, Jason and Nikki were meeting with Angie for training on the phys ed portion of the week, and that since Jason and Nikki would be finished before the rest of them each day, those two would be helping the other advisors, Angie, and the director and assistant director to finish setting up the camp in preparation for the campers’ arrival.

“I want to start by having the eight of you pair up with your week one partners, and each pair have a seat at a table,” Mindy instructed.

Dustin and El, Mike and Suzie, Tom and Dani, and Eric and Kayla paired up and each took a seat at a lab table. Dustin had hurried to the front, so he and El were at one of the two tables in the very front row. Tom was just as eager, so he and Dani were at the lab table in the front row next to Dustin and El. Suzie had been on her way to the table right behind Dustin and El, but Kayla had been standing closer to it and sat down first, so Kayla and Eric were behind Dustin and El, which left Suzie and Mike to sit behind Tom and Dani.

“At Camp Know Where, we understand that different students may appreciate different sciences, so we pride ourselves on exploring several different areas such as physics, biology, earth science, and chemistry,” Mindy began as she picked up a stack of paper from her table in the front of the class.

She walked to each of the four tables and handed a packet to each of the eight counselors. The packet was titled “Lesson One: Simple Machines.”

“You already know that each day will consist of four one-hour lessons,” Mindy continued. “Lesson One is our physics hour, and we will be focusing on simple machines. The packet I handed out to each of you is a training tool that I recommend you keep with you when your campers arrive so you can use it as a reference. It explains what you will be doing each day, and it is broken down day by day.”

Mike flipped through the packet and skimmed over the agenda. It appeared that Monday would be spent teaching the campers about the lever and the wheel and axle; Tuesday they would teach the campers about the pulley and the inclined plane; Wednesday they would teach the campers about the wedge and the screw; and Thursday they would introduce the campers to the physics project.

“As you can see, once your campers have learned about the six simple machines, they will put their knowledge to use and create a balloon-powered car,” Mindy said. “The instructions are on the last page of your packet, and you all will be making them yourselves this Thursday as well. Friday will be used for finishing their balloon-powered car projects, and then they get to have some fun and race them.”

Mike furrowed his brow as he read through the instructions of building the balloon-powered car and saw the materials that would be used.

“Cardboard, clay, discs, and straws?” he whispered, looking at Suzie next to him in confusion. “When Dustin came home last summer, he had actual machines that he built.”

“The older campers spend a much longer time at camp than the younger campers do,” Suzie explained. “Besides, that type of thing would be too advanced for kids these ages.”

“Now, I know that by now, you should all be familiar with the six simple machines,” Mindy redirected the counselors’ attention. “But there is a specific presentation that you will need to follow when leading your campers. So, I am going to go through that with you right now. Today will be the presentation on the lever and the wheel and axle.”

Mindy dimmed the lights and pulled up the PowerPoint presentation that all the counselors would be provided with to help instruct their campers. As she started droning on about the lever, Mike began to zone out. His eyes naturally gravitated toward El who was sitting at the table diagonal from him next to Dustin. She seemed to be paying attention to the presentation, her eyes fixed on the front of the classroom. Mike couldn’t help but notice how pretty she looked even in the poorly lit room with the glow from the PowerPoint screen reflected on her tan skin.

Just then, Suzie cleared her throat which startled Mike, and he turned to look at his partner for the week. Suzie was looking directly at him with her lips curled into an amused grin and her eyes giving him a knowing look. Mike felt his cheeks blush, which Suzie noticed even in the dim light, and she chuckled.

“You know, the three of us had a great time in the lake last night. We all wish you would’ve joined us,” Suzie said quietly to not disturb the presentation.

“I was tired,” Mike said lamely.

“Yeah, that’s what El told me you’d said after we got back to our cabin last night,” Suzie said, and Mike could tell she didn’t believe his excuse.

“She was… she was talking about me?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Well yeah,” Suzie laughed. “She told me that you guys had a nice talk down by the lake and were starting to get to know each other, and then when everyone was getting into the lake to go swimming, you kind of froze up and gave some excuse about being too tired, and then you took off.”

Mike looked down. He couldn’t exactly argue with that. From El’s point of view, that is probably exactly what happened, and Mike knew that.

“She said she was really confused by it, but personally, I think she was a bit hurt, too,” Suzie continued. “She asked me if it sounded like she did something wrong to make you want to leave.”

“No,” Mike said immediately. “No, it was nothing like that. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“That’s what I told her,” Suzie said gently.

Mike nodded his appreciation and stared ahead at his desk, feeling a bit guilty. He didn’t want El to think that he was trying to avoid her, and he certainly didn’t mean to make her feel bad in any way.

“So, why did you leave like that?” Suzie asked.

Mike sighed and glanced over at El again. Then, he looked at Eric who was seated directly behind El.

“It’s complicated,” Mike said quietly. “She’s right. We were getting along great and having a nice talk… I guess I just got in my own head about some things.”

“What kind of things?” Suzie asked.

“Just… stuff,” Mike shook his head, not meeting Suzie’s eyes. “It’s stupid.”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to talk about it. I know we barely know each other,” Suzie said sweetly. “But I’m sure whatever it is isn’t stupid. Is it something you can talk to Dustin about?”

“I kind of did,” Mike replied, feeling a bit uncomfortable discussing his insecurities without actually discussing them, especially with one of his best friend’s girlfriend who he just met. “There are just some things that I’ll need to work through on my own.”

“Okay, well maybe you should try talking to El,” Suzie suggested. “At least let her know that she didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Yeah,” Mike nodded. “I’m going to do that after lunch.”

He glanced over toward El again and met her eyes, as she was already looking at him. She offered a smile so small that Mike almost missed it, but it was there. Then, El looked back up front toward the presentation.

Mindy finished the presentation that the counselors were to be giving their campers on day one, and then she answered any questions that the counselors had. She picked up the next stack of papers and passed around packets titled “Lesson Two: Dissection.”

El’s face curled into a grimace as she flipped through the packet for lesson two. 

“Oh, sweet!” Dustin marveled next to her as he skimmed over it himself.

“For the biology portion of camp, our campers will be dissecting a variety of animals, starting very small, and getting increasingly more complex as the week goes on,” Mindy explained when she had returned to the front of the classroom. “Each day, you will provide your campers with the animal specimen and a diagram of the animal. This lesson will be very important for you to lead your campers through, so you will have a specimen yourself at the front of the classroom to dissect right along with your students.”

Dani, the blonde who was sitting at the table in front of Mike, immediately raised her hand, and Mindy nodded her direction.

“What if someone ethically objects to doing this? This seems like animal cruelty,” Dani said.

“They’re already dead,” Dustin chuckled, though only El heard him.

“Camp Know Where is very transparent with our potential campers and their parents, so everyone is aware that there is animal dissection before they enroll in the camp,” Mindy explained. “So, if the parents have chosen to let their children come, they have done so knowing that they will be dissecting animals. Additionally, these animals are preserved specifically for the use of scientific education.”

“If you don’t want to do the actual dissecting, I can do it and you can explain to the campers what I’m doing,” Tom offered, though the look of disgust on Dani’s face did not go away.

“On day one, we start off very small,” Mindy said. “The first dissection is an earthworm.”

It took several minutes for Mindy to ensure that each table was set up with an earthworm and the proper dissecting tools and protective gloves and goggles. Then, Mindy passed out the diagrams of the earthworm and began to lead the counselors in the dissection.

“This is not what I signed up for,” Dani said under her breath. Mike heard what she said, and he laughed, causing Dani to look back and make eye contact with him.

“Actually, it is,” Tom corrected her.

Dani dramatically rolled her eyes and tilted her head toward Tom while keeping Mike’s gaze. Mike chuckled and nodded, and Dani gave him a big smile before turning back to her own table.

The dissection went pretty smoothly for El. It wasn’t as bad as she had thought it would be; granted, this was only an earthworm. El flipped through the packet and saw the animals they would be dissecting over the next four days, and Mindy was certainly right when she said they became more complex each day. The remaining animals, in order, were a starfish, a frog, a pigeon, and a fetal pig. El figured she would be okay helping with the starfish and frog, and maybe the pigeon, but she was certain that Dustin would be on his own with the fetal pig.

When the second lesson was finished, the counselors cleaned up their areas. After putting everything away, El walked to the sink to wash her hands, and Mike took the opportunity to walk up next to her.

“Hey,” he said. “How are you liking it so far?”

“It’s interesting,” El replied, shutting off the water and grabbing a paper towel to dry her hands. “I think lesson two will be my least favorite.”

Mike laughed and watched as she finished drying her hands. He studied her hazel eyes which seemed to sparkle when he looked into them, and he watched the way she flipped her chestnut hair over her shoulder.

“I was, uh, I was just wondering,” he began suddenly. “Could we maybe go somewhere and talk after lunch?”

“Yeah, of course,” El replied, raising her eyebrows.

“Cool,” Mike smiled, feeling relieved.

“Cool,” El grinned in return.

Mike felt himself begin to blush from El smiling at him, so he looked back toward the rest of the classroom where the other counselors were starting to take their places at their tables.

“We should probably get back over there,” he said.

“Yeah,” El agreed.

They parted ways, and Mike returned to his seat next to Suzie while El returned to her seat next to Dustin.

Mindy passed out the informational packets on lesson three which was covering biomes. As El flipped through it, she saw that they would be spending the first two days discussing several different biomes, and beginning the third day, the campers would each begin creating a terrarium of a biome of their choice. Of course, since the first two days of lesson three were presentation-based, that meant Mindy was about to start showing the presentation that the counselors would be giving next week. El was okay with this, as it gave her some time to think.

The previous night, she had been confused when Mike left abruptly. El couldn’t help but think she said or did something to make him leave, but she couldn’t figure out what that could have been. Everything had been going great. She even thought she had felt an extra spark between them at the lake. Could she have been imagining Mike moving his hand closer to hers on that rock? Where would things have gone if that advisor hadn’t called out about dinner and interrupted?

Then again, things hadn’t gotten weird between them until everyone was jumping into the lake. El wondered if maybe she had made him uncomfortable by slipping out of her dress right in front of him like that. Maybe Mike had been feeling something between them too and thought she crossed the line too quickly? Or maybe he was just wanting to be friends, so her doing that sent him the wrong message? Then again, they had been getting ready to go swimming. Of course she had to take off her dress.

“Are you okay?” Dustin whispered, pulling her out of her thoughts.

“Yeah,” El whispered back with a reassuring smile.

“Are you sure? You look totally zoned out,” Dustin said.

“I’m just… thinking,” El said vaguely.

“About Mike?” Dustin asked.

“W-what? Why would you assume that?” El asked, taken aback.

“You were super in to things all morning, and then I saw you and Mike talking over at the sink. Now you seem distracted,” Dustin explained.

“Oh,” El sighed, feeling a light blush cross her cheekbones.

“What were you guys talking about?” Dustin asked gently.

“He asked if we could go somewhere to talk after lunch,” El replied. “I don’t know what he wants to talk about, though.”

“I think I have a pretty good idea,” Dustin said.

El studied Dustin’s expression, and from what she could read, he seemed to be genuine and friendly. She was sure Mike probably talked to Dustin last night about whatever was really bothering him, and maybe if Dustin could fill El in a little bit before she talked to Mike, she would have an idea of what was coming that afternoon.

“Dustin, do you know what happened with him last night? Why did he leave all of a sudden?” El asked.

“El, it’s not really my place to tell you anything,” Dustin replied, and El sighed.

“Will you at least tell me if he was upset about something I did or said?” she asked.

“I can assure you, you did not do anything wrong to upset him,” Dustin promised. “Mike’s a good guy. He just has some issues.”

“Issues?” El repeated, scrunching her forehead in confusion.

“Not, like, bad issues or anything,” Dustin said quickly. “Just personal stuff. He has some insecurities about a few different things, and he tends to be kind of hard on himself.”

“Oh,” El said quietly. Her brow remained furrowed and concern crossed her face. “What kind of insecurities? And hard on himself about what?”

“I’ve already said too much,” Dustin shook his head. “But I swear, he doesn’t want to avoid you. Just hear him out.”

El nodded. Of course she would hear him out. She couldn’t imagine what he would have to be insecure about. He had really seemed to be willing to open up with her at the lake. Sure, they had really just talked about camp and friends back home, but El had felt like if they had been able to sit there and keep talking, she could have shared anything with Mike. There was just something about him.

When Mindy finished the presentation about biomes, she picked up her final stack of packets and passed them out.

“Lesson four is a little bit of a combination,” Mindy explained. “It will focus on different types of rock and the rock cycle, as well as some aspects of chemistry like mixing solutions and conducting experiments. Part of what the campers will be doing is growing their own sugar crystals.”

Mindy explained that the first day, they will be creating the mixture and starting the process of growing crystals. Then, they will place their projects out of the way on one side of the classroom, checking them periodically to note their progress, and the crystals will be fully formed on Friday.

She started by showing the counselors the brief opening presentation and introduction that they will give their campers prior to beginning the crystals. Then, the counselors gathered the supplies they needed based on the instructions on the final page of their packets. 

El took her piece of string and wet it with water before coating it with sugar. She hung it over the edge of her glass jar while she turned on her hot plate and began mixing the indicated amount of water and sugar in a pan. While she was waiting for her solution to boil, she snuck a glance back at Mike and Suzie’s table. They both also seemed to be waiting on their solutions to boil, as they were just talking. She saw Mike laugh at something Suzie said, and El smiled to herself at how cute he looked when he was happy. 

El heard the sound of water bubbling next to her, so she turned to see that her solution was boiling. She stirred it until all the sugar was dissolved until removing the mixture from the hot pan. Then, El poured her mixture into her glass jar and added a fair amount of food coloring and glitter to the jar.

When all the counselors were finished, Mindy had them place their jars on a shelf along the side of the classroom. She explained that the crystals will continue to form all week and will be finished on Friday, the final day of camp. Mindy explained that the sugar crystals are edible, so it will be a fun treat for the campers to end camp with.

Before dismissing them for the day, Mindy recapped day one of all four lessons and took time to answer any questions that the counselors had thought of. Finally, they were free for the afternoon, and the eight of them began to stand from their tables to head to lunch.

“El, you look nice today,” came Eric’s voice from behind El as she was pushing in her chair.

She turned to face him and saw him finish eyeing her up and down. El blushed despite herself but shifted slightly uncomfortably.

“Um, thanks,” she said. 

“Last night was fun, wasn’t it?” Eric asked with a friendly smile.

“Yeah, I had a good time with everyone,” El replied generally.

“I had a good time too. I was thinking that later today, maybe you and I could go back down to the lake. We could walk the path around it and talk, maybe go swimming again if you want,” Eric offered.

El opened her mouth to respond and found herself stuttering in shock. She thought she had made it clear last night that she wasn’t interested in Eric, but that she was only being nice. Maybe he didn’t get the hint.

“That sounds nice, but I already have plans with someone else,” she finally said.

Eric nodded, looking a bit disappointed.

“Okay. Another time, then,” he said.

He offered her another grin before turning and walking over to Dani’s table and striking up a conversation with her before the two of them left together. El shook her head and turned to face Dustin.

“He’s not going to give up until you shut him down hard,” Dustin said.

“He’s clearly got another option, and I’m not interested anyway,” El shrugged.

Mike and Suzie joined Dustin and El, and Dustin immediately wrapped his arm around Suzie’s shoulders and planted a kiss on her cheek.

“What did you guys think of day one?” Dustin asked.

“It took me back a few years,” Suzie smiled fondly. “I think the young campers will enjoy their week here.”

“Me too, Suzie-Poo,” Dustin agreed. “But let’s get out of here. I’m starving.”

Dustin, Suzie, Mike, and El left the classroom and headed toward the cafeteria. As they were walking along the path, Mike was looking into the woods, wondering if there were any shortcuts that campers or counselors had found in the past, or if any had wandered into the woods and gotten lost. El was looking into the woods, wondering similar things. She thought it may be worth exploring some time since it sounded like they would have a fair amount of free time over the next six weeks.

They reached the cafeteria and each got a tray of food and found an empty table to eat at. El looked around and saw Jason, Eric, and Nikki sitting at a table together, Dani and Kayla sitting at another table together, and Tom sitting alone. She wondered if even here at science camp people would be cliquey. They were still high schoolers, after all, even if they weren’t in that high school setting. El looked around her table at Dustin, Suzie, and Mike, and she decided that if this was her group for the next six weeks, she would be perfectly content with that. She had mixed feelings about being around people her age that she didn’t know. While part of her had been excited by the idea of making new friends, another part of her had been worried that she wouldn’t meet anyone and that she would be looked over just like she was at her high school back in Chicago. Luckily, Suzie had been eager to get to know her ever since El stood up for Suzie and Dustin against Jason in the welcome line. And while she seemed to get along with Dustin and was happy to be working with him as her partner for the first week, she was the most drawn to Mike. She kept watching him out of the corner of her eye, and every now and then, she thought she saw him glance her way too.

“But I was thinking that you could talk to your parents when you get back to Utah about coming to Hawkins over Christmas break this year,” Dustin was saying to Suzie when El tuned back in.

“Dusty-Bun, you know I would love to, but you don’t know my parents. They would be so hard to convince,” Suzie frowned.

“That’s why you need to start convincing them early. It will give you five months. I know you can do it,” Dustin insisted.

“I can probably try to lay the groundwork, but they would definitely want to talk to your mom… probably several times before making a decision,” Suzie said hesitantly.

“Of course,” Dustin said quickly. “Whatever they want. My mom would love to meet you, and your parents would be happy to know that my mom’s bedroom is directly between my room and the guest room where you would be staying.”

Dustin said it with a positive attitude, but Mike chuckled at the look of annoyance on his friend’s face that appeared. 

“It would be fun to meet your mom,” Suzie smiled. “And, of course, the rest of the party.”

Mike cringed as the word “party” was used again. He had managed to sidestep that yesterday when he had let the word slip and El had asked about it. He wasn’t quite so sure that it would be able to slide by again.

“They would love to meet you,” Dustin said excitedly. “I tried to convince them to apply to be counselors, too, but clearly I had no luck. I was only able to convince my trusty paladin.”

Mike closed his eyes and prayed El wouldn’t ask-

“Paladin?” came El’s questioning voice.

Mike wanted to disappear.

“Yeah, that’s Mike,” Dustin said casually. “Every member of the party has their own specific role.”

“I’m confused,” El said, cocking her head curiously. “What roles? And what do you mean by party?”

“Have you ever heard of Dungeons and Dragons?” Suzie asked.

“Guys,” Mike said lowly, his cheeks beginning to turn red.

“Mike has always been a natural leader. He’s our dungeon master,” Dustin explained earnestly, and Mike felt guilty about being embarrassed because he knew Dustin meant no harm. “So Mike’s our paladin, I’m our bard, Will’s our cleric, Lucas is our ranger, and Max is our zoomer.”

“Dustin, please,” Mike said.

“A zoomer isn’t exactly a real thing, but we let it slide because Max is cool,” Dustin continued.

“That’s enough, okay?” Mike said firmly. “Can we please talk about anything else?”

Dustin, Suzie, and El all fell silent and looked at Mike, surprised by his outburst. Mike looked down, avoiding their wide eyes and questioning expressions, and pushed his tray away.

“Sorry,” he mumbled. “Besides, I’m not really hungry anymore. I’m just gonna go.”

Mike stood up and carried his tray to the trashcan near the exit. He dumped his food and shoved the door open, making a beeline up the path away from the cafeteria.

He knew Dustin meant well. He knew that in Dustin’s mind, he was just talking Mike up. But Mike was certain that El now thought he was the biggest nerd possible. Dungeons and Dragons? Party? Paladin? There’s no way Mike could recover from that. 

“Mike! Wait up!” called El’s voice from behind him.

A tingle shot down Mike’s spine at the sound of her voice, and he stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw El hurrying after him. When she reached him, Mike looked down into her hazel eyes and only saw concern and confusion, no judgement.

“I thought you wanted to talk to me after lunch,” El reminded him.

“Oh, yeah, that… It was nothing. Just forget about it,” Mike shook his head and started to turn away from her.

“I was looking forward to hanging out with you,” El said quickly, the disappointment evident in her tone.

“You were?” Mike asked, turning back to face her again.

“Well, yeah,” El smiled. “I was having a great time talking to you last night before you left.”

Mike remembered that Suzie told him El had said that same thing last night. He smiled and let out a sigh before nodding his head.

“Yeah, I was too,” he said. “So, uh, where do you want to go?”

“There are some picnic tables by the volleyball court. We could go sit and talk there,” El suggested.

“Sure, that sounds good,” Mike agreed.

They made their way toward the volleyball court in a comfortable silence. Mike couldn’t help himself from sneaking several glances El’s way. Maybe he could come back from this, after all.

When they reached the volleyball court, Mike and El took a seat on one side of one of the picnic tables, facing each other. Her wide eyes were watching him patiently and expectantly.

“Look, El, the reason I wanted to talk to you was to apologize for last night,” Mike began.

His heart was pounding, but Mike was proud of himself for getting that out with no stuttering or stammering for the proper words. 

“You don’t have to apologize for wanting to leave. I was just taken off guard, and I thought maybe I did something wrong, even though Dustin and Suzie both assured me I didn’t,” El said.

“No, you didn’t,” Mike quickly confirmed. “You didn’t do anything wrong at all. It was… it was me, not you.”

El nodded and waited for Mike to continue. She felt like he was holding back so much, and she wished he would just open up like he had started to last night.

“Well, would you like to tell me what happened? Only if you want to, of course,” El offered gently when Mike remained silent.

Mike let out a long sigh, and El saw on his face that he was struggling with what to say.

“It’s just that… I guess I’m just really… self-conscious… about certain things,” he managed.

“I didn’t pick up on that at all when we were talking by the lake last night,” El said. In fact, she had thought he had shown a bit of boldness, telling her the kids at her school were missing out by not talking to her. And El was almost certain he had started moving his hand toward hers.

“Well, when it was just you and me talking by the lake, I wasn’t feeling self-conscious,” Mike admitted. “I really like talking to you when it’s just me and you… I feel like I could talk to you forever, but…”

“But what?” El asked after a moment.

“But when there are other people around, I just… I mean, look at you, and look at me,” Mike blurted out.

El furrowed her brow and narrowed her eyes.

“You’re just… and I… and Jason and Eric…” Mike’s cheeks were on fire.

He felt like he wanted to shrivel up and completely disappear. Apparently, he had gotten his hopes up when he started this conversation off strongly, because clearly, any chance he had at a coherent explanation was gone.

“What do Jason and Eric have to do with anything?” El asked.

“It’s just… you’re so… pretty,” Mike forced himself to admit. “And last night… with those guys standing right there all shirtless and…” Mike sighed again. “It’s just, isn’t that the kind of guy any girl would want to be seen with?”

“I mean, I can’t speak for all girls, but muscles and abs and tan skin are not what determine who I want to be seen with,” El said. “Mike, was I asking Jason or Eric to go swimming with me?”

Mike’s eyes fell to the ground.

“No,” he mumbled.

“Exactly,” El said. “I don’t care that you don’t look like them. I was enjoying getting to know you… Besides, Jason’s a creep, and Eric is too buddy-buddy with him for me to even think about trusting him. But you… you seemed like a really sweet, genuine guy, and I thought we could become at least friends.”

“At least friends?” Mike repeated, his eyebrows raised in surprise.

El’s mouth gaped open as she realized what she said, and her cheeks started to turn pink as she let out a nervous laugh.

“Well, um, yeah. I-I know I want to be your friend. Like I told you last night, I don’t really have a lot of friends back home, so it was nice to feel like I was making one,” El admitted.

“Well, I want to be your friend, too,” Mike said, and El smiled sweetly.

“Good,” she said. “Because friends don’t lie to each other, right?”

“Right,” Mike replied slowly, unsure of where she was going with this.

“Then will you tell me why you got so upset at lunch a little bit ago?” El asked.

“It’s just… I guess that’s another thing I’m self-conscious about,” Mike admitted. “Dustin was going on and on about Dungeons and Dragons, and I was just worried you would think I’m just some huge nerd and you wouldn’t want anything to do with me.”

“Mike,” El said seriously. “We’re camp counselors at a science camp. I already knew you were a nerd.”

Mike laughed but felt a sense of relief come over him.

“And you still want to be around me?” he asked. “That doesn’t scare you off or anything?”

“Of course it doesn’t,” El replied. “And of course I still want to be around you.”

Mike smiled at her, feeling much more confident about the connection he had sensed between them. He couldn’t help but feel guilty at thinking El could be the superficial type.

“If we’re going to be friends-” El began.

“At least friends,” Mike playfully reminded her, the words leaving his mouth before he even thought about it.

“At least friends,” El grinned, the blush crossing her cheekbones again. “Then you need to know I’m not going to judge you for what you like to do for fun. I want you to be yourself. I want to get to know you. You don’t have anything to be embarrassed or self-conscious about.”

“Thanks, El,” Mike smiled.

El returned the smile, flashing her perfectly white teeth, and the smile reached her sparkling hazel eyes.

“So…” she said, her lips suddenly curling into a teasing grin. “You really think I’m pretty?”

Mike’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head as he gaped at her question. Her glossing over that earlier must have been too good to be true.

“I, uh… I mean… y-yeah, obviously,” he stuttered, his face feeling more on fire than it ever had before.

El giggled.

“You know, it’s really cute when you get all flustered like that,” she said, blushing.

Mike let out a nervous laugh.

“So you think I’m cute?” he quipped.

“Obviously,” El smiled.

Mike suddenly became aware of how much closer he and El had moved toward each other. His eyes were fixed on hers, and he felt the breath from her lips against his. In an instant, he felt the soft connection of her lips pressed against his. Mike closed his eyes and wove a hand into El’s wavy, chestnut hair, and he felt as she clasped her hands behind his neck. The rest of the world fell away, and their lips moved together as if they had known each other their whole lives.

They finally pulled apart just enough to look into each other’s eyes, neither of them fully believing it had just happened. Mike swallowed hard, the taste of El’s strawberry kiwi chapstick still on his lips.

“Wow,” he breathed.

“Yeah,” El sighed with a smile.

“I’m, uh… really glad we decided to be friends,” Mike teased, his smile reaching ear to ear.

“Shut up,” El laughed, and then she forward and joined their lips once again.


	4. Chapter 4

“Holy shit, Dustin. She’s incredible!” Mike exclaimed as he and Dustin walked through the woods to their cabin.

After his talk with El, Mike felt a newfound relief wash over him, and he felt crazy for ever questioning all the obvious signs that Dustin had pointed out to him. 

“I told you she liked you,” Dustin gloated. “I didn’t think you would be sucking face on day one or anything, but like I told you yesterday, we’re gonna have to pry you two off each other when it’s time to leave.”

“I don’t even want to think about when camp is over,” Mike said dismissively. “I just want to spend as much time with her as possible, and this 9pm curfew sucks. I’m sixteen; my parents don’t even make me come home by nine.”

“You’re always home by nine. We’re all usually in your basement,” Dustin pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but not because I have to be. We just happen to hang out at my house. But that’s not the point,” Mike said quickly. “The point is El is awesome, and I just want to keep getting to know her, everything about her.”

“I’m sure the making out has nothing to do with this sudden desire to spend all your time with her?” Dustin smirked.

“Shut up, Dustin,” Mike muttered as his cheeks blushed a light pink.

Dustin snickered. After El had hurried out of the cafeteria to chase after Mike that afternoon, Dustin and Suzie had decided to stay and finish their lunch, giving Mike and El time to talk. Dustin and Suzie had figured that once Mike and El talked, they would all four meet back up. When Dustin and Suzie had finished eating and gone outside to see no trace of Mike or El, they decided to take a walk to see if they could find them. They chose to go down the path that led to all the recreational places like the volleyball and basketball courts and the lake. As they came up on the volleyball courts, they found Mike and El joined at the lips, his hands gripping her hips and her hands messed into his hair. Neither Mike nor El noticed their friends approaching until Dustin loudly cleared his throat and Mike and El turned to see Dustin and Suzie standing next to them, both with amused grins on their faces.

After several minutes of teasing from Dustin and Suzie, the four of them decided to play a game of volleyball. Suzie is on her high school’s varsity volleyball team back in Utah, which Mike already knew from Dustin’s constant bragging about how sexy it is that his girlfriend is smart and athletic and how much he wishes he could go to Utah and see her play wearing those little volleyball shorts. Mike and El had both been a little hesitant because neither of them had ever played volleyball outside of when it was required in gym class, but they gave in and joined their friends on the opposite side of the net. They were glad they did, too, because it turned out that all three of them sucked at volleyball and Suzie was the only one who really knew what she was doing. They all spent an hour sloppily diving after the ball, falling in the sand, and just laughing and becoming more comfortable with one another. By the time the game was over, and Suzie and Dustin won, it was like the four of them were best friends.

After volleyball, they had all gone over to the lake and just hung out near the tide. They all talked for a while, until Dustin found a way for him and Suzie to disappear, and Mike knew they wouldn’t be back for a while. He and El had talked for a little bit, but they soon found themselves lost in each other again.

“I’m just teasing you. You know I’m happy for you,” Dustin said as they reached their cabin.

They walked into their cabin to find Tom sitting up in his bed, his nose deep in a book. Eric was laying in bed scrolling through Instagram, and Mike noticed his Instagram feed was almost entirely made up of attractive girls. Jason was not in the cabin yet. Mike and Dustin got ready for bed, and as Dustin was climbing up to his top bunk, Jason walked in the door.

Jason immediately started bragging to Eric about the time he spent with Nikki today.

“Dude, I told you I would have her by the end of this week, didn’t I?” Jason said with a sly grin.

“Already?” Eric asked, his eyebrows raised in a combination of surprise and respect.

“Not quite. But I would bet on tomorrow. She wants it,” Jason said.

Mike rolled his eyes and turned onto his side facing the wall. He was feeling amazing after his day with El, and he was not going to let his disgust for those creeps ruin anything.

Over in the female counselors’ cabin, Kayla was already sleeping, while Dani and Nikki were both still getting ready for bed. Suzie and El were sitting side-by-side on El’s bottom bunk, and Suzie was giddily listening to El recap how she and Mike finally broke the ice and told each other the truth.

“I don’t know, and then the mood just, like, changed from serious to flirty,” El was saying. “He told me I was pretty, and I told him he was cute, and then… we were kissing.”

“Ooh that’s so cute!” Suzie squealed. “I knew you were both into each other. Neither of you are very subtle.”

El laughed and shrugged her shoulders. She couldn’t really argue with that.

“I just wish he wasn’t so self-conscious, you know?” El said. “He’s so sweet and smart, and I mean, I could just stare at him forever. Who cares that he’s not built super muscular or that he’s a bit of a nerd?”

Suzie shrugged her shoulders but said nothing in return.

“Wait, do you think some other girl did that to him? Like, he liked a girl and she rejected him or something?” El asked.

“That’s not exactly what happened,” Suzie replied slowly.

“W-what happened?” El asked, and Suzie could see how concerned El was.

“I don’t know the whole story. But when Dustin and I started dating and Dustin told me about his friends, he told me Mike was dating a girl named Stephanie,” Suzie explained. “I know she broke up with him, and Dustin told me it was bad, but I don’t really know what happened… But Mike did tell me he has some insecurities, and if that is what he told you he was insecure about… I guess it would make sense that this Stephanie had something to do with it.”

“Hmm,” El hummed thoughtfully. “Well, if she did, she’s an idiot, because he’s amazing.”

As El said that, Dani and Nikki both walked out of the large bathroom and were passing El and Suzie.

“Who’s amazing?” Dani asked interestedly.

“She’s probably talking about that tall kid she hung out with all day. You’ve seen them sitting together in the cafeteria with her and her boyfriend, right?” Nikki asked, gesturing toward Suzie.

“Oh, yeah! I think I remember his name is Mike,” Dani said and turned back to El. “He sat behind me in the classroom today. He is kinda cute, isn’t he?”

El was taken aback but opened her mouth to respond. Before she could say anything, Nikki scoffed loudly, and El turned her attention toward her.

“Seriously, Dani?” Nikki asked with an amused look on her face.

“What?! He is,” Dani defended herself. “He’s cute in like a cute way. I didn’t say he was hot or anything.”

Nikki rolled her eyes, and El felt her cheeks heating up.

“But anyway, he seems like a nice guy. Are you seeing him or something?” Dani asked, turning back to El.

“U-um… I-I,” El stuttered. She was not sure how to answer that. She and Mike had just met, and while today was amazing, she didn’t know what to call it. They were just starting to get to know each other, so no they weren’t dating. But she didn’t want Dani thinking he was available either.

“What do you think?” Suzie jumped in. “You said yourself that you’ve seen them together with me and my boyfriend. They spent the whole bonfire together and all afternoon today. It isn’t rocket science.”

“Okay, okay, it was just a question. Jeez,” Dani raised her hands in mock surrender.

Dani and Nikki walked to the other side of the cabin where their bunkbeds were, and Suzie watched them with narrow eyes.

“I don’t trust her,” Suzie said quietly.

“She’s been spending a lot of time with Eric,” El said.

“Yeah, but… I don’t see that lasting,” Suzie admitted. “I don’t trust him either.”

El was silent. Was Dani actually interested in Mike, or was she just curious about whether El and him were dating? Would Dani go after him? El just finally got Mike to open up to her. Was she going to have to fight to keep his attention?

“You don’t have anything to worry about with Mike,” Suzie reassured her as if she could tell what El was thinking. “From talking to him and even just from seeing you two together, I really do not believe he’s going to be interested in any other girls. I think he really, really likes you.”

El couldn’t help but smile and blush, feeling like a schoolgirl with a crush. She pushed Dani’s remarks out of her mind. Of course there was nothing to worry about. Mike seemed like he would be genuine, and El was excited to let things between them progress. Suzie climbed up to her top bunk, and soon El was falling asleep with a smile on her face as she replayed her talk with Mike on the picnic table in her mind.

The next morning, Suzie told El that she had gotten a text from Dustin saying that he and Mike would meet them at the female counselors’ cabin and walk together for their training class.

“You have service here?” El asked, pulling out her own phone and seeing that she had only one bar.

“It comes and goes,” Suzie shrugged.

A few minutes later, the girls were waiting outside the cabin. They watched as Kayla skipped down the steps from the cabin and nodded politely before heading up the path. Soon, Suzie and El saw Jason approaching, and they assumed he was meeting up with Nikki to head to their own training together. Sure enough, Nikki appeared behind them in short cloth shorts and a loose t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, showing the sides of her tight black sports bra. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her black Nikes looked too clean to be trekking through the woods.

“Hey! You ready for today?” Jason greeted Nikki as she reached him. He phrased it about their next day of training, but El couldn’t help but sense that he had more in mind.

After Nikki and Jason left, Dustin and Mike appeared moments later. El’s face immediately brightened when she saw Mike, and she couldn’t help but smile when she saw him do the same.

“Hey,” El beamed up at him when he was finally in front of her.

“Hey,” Mike replied, unable to contain the smile on his face. “You look nice today.”

“Thank you,” El blushed, looking down at her denim shorts and flowy orange tank top.

“You two lovebirds ready to go?” Dustin asked after pulling back from his kiss with Suzie.

Mike and El both blushed bright red, and Dustin laughed as Mike chuckled nervously and looked down at the ground.

“Leave them alone,” Suzie playfully swatted Dustin. “They’re adorable.”

“Yes, we’re ready to go,” El finally said, still blushing.

Just then, the cabin door was pushed open again and Dani bounded down the stairs wearing short high-waisted shorts that accentuated her curves. Her blonde hair fell neatly over her shoulders, and she was wearing mascara that made her eyelashes look twice as long as they did yesterday and a subtle, summery pink shade on her plump lips.

“Hey guys,” she greeted in a friendly, peppy tone and waved at the four of them. “Hi Mike.”

“Uh, hey, Dani,” Mike answered, sounding unsure.

“I’ll see you guys in class,” Dani smiled as she walked past them.

El glared after Dani, feeling a sense of jealousy building. She wasn’t stupid. El looked over at Mike who seemed slightly confused about Dani singling him out, but once he met El’s eyes, his face softened and he smiled warmly at her.

Dustin again announced that they should be on their way, and then the four of them headed away from the girls’ cabin. Dustin and Suzie were leading the way, hand-in-hand, while Mike and El followed. 

El suddenly felt the backs of Mike’s fingers brush lightly against hers and then disappear. Chills coursed through her body at his touch, and then again when it happened a second time a moment later. El felt her lips curl into a dopey grin, and she had to stifle a giggle at how shy and cute he was being. After full-on making out with her yesterday, he was acting nervous to hold her hand? El inched her fingers closer to Mike’s and laced them in between his, giving his hand a squeeze. She saw Mike raise his eyebrows in surprise, and he squeezed her hand in return.

They reached the classroom, and their second day of training was soon underway. El and Mike kept sneaking glances at each other across the classroom, which did not go unnoticed by Dustin and Suzie. Mike was frequently met with smirks from Suzie when he would turn to look at her next to him. 

When it was time for the starfish dissection, Dani was more annoying than she had been the day before, actually squealing when Tom made his first incision. El rolled her eyes when Dani squealed and looked behind her at Mike, but El then smirked in satisfaction when Mike didn’t even look up to notice Dani at all.

After lesson two, Mike was washing his hands when El walked up next to him and leaned against the counter, her arm brushing against his.

“Hey, so I was thinking,” El started. “I know reception is not very reliable here, but I was hoping that maybe I could… get your number? Or give you mine? You know… in case you want to meet up or something like this morning. Like, what if Dustin and Suzie’s texts don’t go through or-”

Mike quickly interrupted her nervous rambling.

“Oh, yeah! Yeah, yeah, definitely,” he said.

El smiled as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. It had been in the back of her mind since Suzie had mentioned Dustin texting her that morning.

“Sorry, I can’t believe I didn’t think of that,” Mike blushed, kicking himself internally. The guy is supposed to ask for the girl’s number, you moron.

El rattled off her phone number, and Mike sent her a quick text message so she could save his number as well. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and pulled it out to see a short text from a new number which simply read ‘Hey, it’s Mike’ and a smiley emoji. El quickly saved his number in her contacts and slipped her phone back into her pocket.

The remaining two lessons passed relatively quickly, and when Mindy dismissed them, Mike and Suzie joined Dustin and El at their table up front. El snuck a glance toward Dani out of the corner of her eye, satisfied that Mike had not acknowledged her today. Eric was walking up to Dani in that moment, and El rolled her eyes when Eric placed his hand on the small of Dani’s back, right on the waistband of her high-waisted shorts.

Mike, El, Dustin, and Suzie all made their way to the cafeteria and had lunch together, but then they parted ways for the afternoon. Dustin and Suzie wanted some time alone, and Mike and El were not going to object to the opportunity to get to know each other better.

“What do you want to do?” Mike asked when it was just the two of them.

“We could walk down by the lake,” El suggested, remembering that the proposition from Eric the previous day actually had sounded like a nice idea. “There is a path all around it.”

“Sure, that sounds cool,” Mike agreed.

They walked hand-in-hand from the cafeteria toward the lake, passing the volleyball court and picnic tables where everything had started just twenty-four hours ago. Mike couldn’t believe how well things were going so quickly. Even when he had started seeing Stephanie, things had taken time to progress. But with El… it was so different. It was like once he let himself open up to her, she just got him. He wanted nothing more than to be around her and learn everything there was to learn. Somewhere in his mind was the nagging feeling that things are never this simple, and that things moving this quickly and smoothly were bound to blow up in his face, but Mike did his best to tune that negativity out.

“So how do you like living in Chicago?” Mike asked as they wandered down the path around the lake.

“It’s fine,” El shrugged. “It’s all I’ve ever known. I do my best to avoid the touristy spots, especially during summer and holiday weekends. But I do love the planetarium… and nothing beats the city when it’s all decorated and lit up for Christmas.”

“I’ve never been there over Christmastime,” Mike said.

“You totally should. We could go see A Christmas Carol at the Goodman Theatre, and then we could take a walk downtown and see all the Christmas lights,” El gushed.

Mike smiled at her excitement, but he couldn’t hide the look of surprise on his face by her choice of words.

“We?” he asked.

El’s face immediately turned beet red when she realized what she had said.

“Sorry, I mean – that’s the advice I give everyone during Christmas,” she explained hurriedly.

“El,” Mike chuckled. “It’s okay. It sounds like a nice time.”

El smiled sweetly up at him and felt her embarrassment fade away. She wasn’t stupid. She knew it wasn’t normal for things to be moving this quickly so easily. The last thing El wanted to do was scare Mike away by coming on too strong, but at the same time, it felt like she had known him for a lifetime, not just two days. 

“So, what do you like to do for fun? Since you know I’m a D&D nerd and all, it’s only fair that I know what a normal teenager does for fun,” Mike laughed.

“Oh stop it, you’re normal too,” El laughed and playfully bumped into him as they walked.

“Oh yeah? Just wait til you hear about the bookshelf in my room filled with Star Wars memorabilia and science fair trophies,” Mike retorted.

“I can’t relate to the science fair trophies, but I love Star Wars,” El replied.

Mike’s eyes doubled in size.

“Don’t play with me, El, that’s not cool,” he warned teasingly.

“I’m not playing!” El insisted. “Star Wars is one of the first movies I remember from my childhood. I’ve seen all of them.”

“Wow, there’s no way I’m not dreaming now,” Mike said. “A pretty girl who is interested in me and likes Star Wars?”

The smile fell from El’s face, and she came to a stop. Mike turned to face her, confused by her sudden change.

“I really wish you would stop being so hard on yourself,” El said gently. “I do like you, Mike. Why is that so hard for you to believe?”

“I don’t know, El,” Mike sighed. He looked down into her big hazel eyes and felt guilty. “It’s not that I don’t believe you. It’s just… I don’t know. I guess it’s just that I know how things usually work out for me, and I’m… scared… that this will end up being the same.”

“The same as what?” El asked.

Stephanie. Heartbreak. Mike couldn’t tell her that. Not yet anyway. Equating them to his relationship of two years would definitely scare her away.

“Mike, don’t you remember what I said to you yesterday?” El asked when Mike remained silent.

Mike nodded. He remembered everything from that conversation. He still couldn’t fully believe that it happened.

“I told you that you don’t have anything to be insecure about,” El reminded him. “And I also told you that friends don’t lie to each other. So, if I tell you I like you, that means I like you. And I like you, okay?”

Mike chuckled, and a smile broke across El’s face.

“I can’t argue with that logic,” Mike said. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be so hard on myself, but when you’ve been burned badly in the past, it’s just hard to believe when something good starts happening… even when all the signs are right there in front of you.”

El squeezed his hand and they continued walking along the lake. She led him over to a large rock where they sat next to each other and watched over the lake silently for a few minutes while the water rippled below.

“So you’ve been burned, huh?” El finally asked gently.

She looked over at Mike while his eyes dropped down to the lake.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “It was rough.”

“How long were you together?” El asked.

“Two years,” Mike replied.

“I’m sorry,” El said, giving his hand a squeeze.

“Shit happens,” Mike shrugged. “But she said some things when she ended it, and… I found out a lot that I never would’ve expected from her… I guess I didn’t realize how much the things she said and did would affect me.”

“I understand,” El said sympathetically. “I’ve been there, too. My last breakup was bad.”

Mike looked over at her to see that El was gazing out over the lake, a pensive look on her face. 

He started to ask what happened, but he swallowed the words back down. Mike knew he wasn’t ready to tell El all the details about Stephanie, and he wouldn’t expect her to tell him all the details of her last breakup. Not yet. So, he scooted closer to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders instead. El rested her head on his shoulder, and they sat in a comfortable silence, enjoying the feel of the breeze and the sound of the water rippling.

“I didn’t mean to turn the mood so depressing,” Mike chuckled after a while.

El laughed and picked her head up from his shoulder. He kept his arm around her shoulders, so when she turned her head to face him, they were already just inches from one another.

“You didn’t,” El said. “I’m glad that we can talk about things like that.”

“I feel like I could tell you anything,” Mike admitted.

And he would. Someday, he would tell her the whole story of what happened with Stephanie. But not just yet.

“I feel like I could tell you anything, too,” El agreed.

Her mind filled with her own secrets and insecurities. She knew she would one day confide these things in Mike. She knew she could trust him. But it just wasn’t time.

El’s eyes flicked down to Mike’s lips and back up to his dark eyes while she bit her bottom lip. Mike moved his hand from her shoulder to the back of her head and guided her lips to his own. His hands made their way down to rest on her waist, and El clasped her hands around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss.

Neither of them knew how long they remained like that, exploring how each other tasted while becoming lost in the feeling of just being together. They were so close that they were breathing in the same air when their lips would briefly break apart to gasp in a breath. They were so close that they could feel one another’s racing heartbeat as their bodies pressed together.

Neither of them noticed that they were no longer alone until they both heard the obnoxious, high-pitched sound of someone teasingly whistling from the distance.

Mike and El broke apart and both looked in the direction where the whistle came from. They both started to blush when they saw Dustin waving at them with a shit-eating grin on his face and Suzie standing next to him.

“I really do hate him sometimes,” Mike sighed, and El laughed.

They stood from the rock and walked back down the path along the lake until they reached Dustin and Suzie.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Dustin grinned. “But we thought you guys might be up for some more volleyball.”

Mike glanced at El, and El shrugged and nodded.

“Why not,” Mike said.

The four of them headed over to the volleyball court, and Suzie grabbed a volleyball from the equipment shed nearby. Dustin and Suzie took their positions on one side of the net, while Mike and El stood on the other side. 

“You’re going down,” Dustin called.

“So would you if Suzie wasn’t on your team,” Mike quipped back, and Dustin flipped him off.

Suzie served, and Mike watched as the volleyball soared over his head and El dove to her side in an attempt to bounce it back over the net. Despite her efforts, she face-planted in the sand, the ball bouncing two feet away from her.

After making sure she was okay, Mike pulled El to her feet with a chuckle, and El picked up the ball and prepared to serve it herself. When El’s attempted serve ran straight into the net, Suzie agreed to let her try again until she could put the ball in play. After three do-overs, the ball finally soared over the net. Dustin jumped up to hit it and ended up sending it backwards further toward Suzie who jumped up and spiked it over the net, slamming the ball into the sand between Mike and El.

For more than an hour, they continued passing the volleyball back and forth, laughing when one of them would fall while diving for the ball, and jumping in shock and joy when someone other than Suzie actually did something good. Mike was never the athletic type, but he had to admit that messing around on the volleyball court was a lot more fun than he ever thought it would be.

“Oh sweet! We call winner,” Eric’s voice rang through the volleyball court.

Mike sighed and turned to see Eric and Dani sitting down on a picnic table nearby. He looked back at El who was panting and out of breath from playing for the past hour.

“We lost. It’s all yours!” El called back.

El grabbed Mike’s hand and led him from the volleyball court over to the picnic tables where Eric and Dani were vacating to head to the side of the net where Mike and El had just been. Mike looked over his shoulder to see Dustin flipping him off again, and Mike just shook his head and turned his attention back to El.

“We suck at volleyball,” El laughed when they sat down.

“Oh, so badly,” Mike agreed. “But it was fun.”

“It was a lot of fun,” El smiled, lacing her fingers with Mike’s again.

As Mike was about to get lost in El’s hazel eyes, they both heard the steps of more people approaching, and soon Jason and Nikki appeared as well. El immediately noticed the two dark marks, she assumed they were hickeys, that were forming along the neckline of Nikki’s cutoff t-shirt.

“Do you guys want in? We’re done for the day,” Dustin called, the first time he had been thankful to see Jason since meeting the guy.

“Hell yeah,” Jason replied, and he and Nikki hurried over to accept the volleyball from Suzie.

Dustin and Suzie rejoined Mike and El, and the four of them left their fellow counselors with the court. They walked around a bit, Dustin pointing out how one could probably cross from path to path by simply walking a straight line through the woods, if one were to want to avoid being seen. Mike rolled his eyes, knowing that his friend was just trying to figure out a way to sneak out and meet up with Suzie after curfew without being caught by an advisor.

After dinner, they parted ways again. Mike and El decided to sneak a few yards into the woods, off of the designated path. El soon found herself pressed against a tree, her arms wrapped around Mike’s neck, and her lips attacking his. She felt his hands rubbing up and down her sides, always resting on her waist. 

She could have stayed like that forever, wrapped up in Mike’s arms and kissing like there was no tomorrow. In fact, they did stay that way for over two hours. Kissing, pulling back and exchanging sweet words, and kissing some more. In El’s mind, she acknowledged once again that things were moving so quickly and easily, like she and Mike were drawn to each other like some sort of magnets, but she couldn’t help it. Ever since that first kiss, this was all she wanted to do. Learn everything about him, and then kiss him and never stop.

Sadly, they did stop as the sun began to set. Mike looked at his watch and revealed that it was 8:45pm.

“I hate this stupid curfew,” he groaned, repeating his earlier sentiments.

“Right? We’re old enough. Nine o’clock is ridiculous,” El agreed, linking their hands together and walking through the woods and back to the path.

As they made the trip to the female counselors’ cabin, El thought through Dustin’s previous theory about how one could move from path to path by managing to walk straight through the woods.

“You know, maybe Dustin was on to something earlier,” she said as they reached her cabin.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked.

“We should probably explore it when it’s daylight out, but I bet he was right about being able to sneak through the woods,” El explained, linking her arms around Mike’s waist and looking up at him.

“And why would you want to explore this theory, exactly?” he asked lowly.

“Well, you said yourself that this curfew is stupid…” El trailed off and looked up at him with wide eyes.

“Are you suggesting that we break curfew and risk getting lost in the woods together?” Mike smirked.

“Would that be so wrong of me to suggest?” El smirked right back.

“I think that’s something we could look into. But when it’s light out,” Mike clarified.

“Of course,” El smiled.

Mike leaned in to peck her on the lips, and El squeezed him tightly.

“Good night. Text me when you make it back to your cabin… Hopefully it’ll come through,” El added the last part with a roll of her eyes.

“Okay, I will,” Mike said and kissed her forehead. “Good night.”

And then Mike left to make the walk to his cabin on the other side of the camp. El watched after him until he disappeared into the trees, feeling like she was floating.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, El was laying on her back waiting for her turn in the shower. She was scrolling through Instagram slowly, as it took extra time to refresh the feed. When it finally refreshed, El saw that she had a notification, and she rolled her eyes when it was just Instagram giving her follow recommendations. Then, an idea crossed her mind.

El clicked on Instagram’s recommended people and started scrolling through the list of her phone contacts who were on Instagram that she didn’t follow. Sure enough, she stopped when she saw his name. Mike Wheeler. 

Should she look at his Instagram? Would that be creepy? She has only known him for a few days, and she was really enjoying getting to know him. El didn’t want to be that girl who creeps on a guy’s social media accounts as soon as she becomes interested in him… but at the same time, it was just so alluring. She decided to click on Mike’s name just to see. There probably wouldn’t be much there anyway… Guys don’t really use Instagram like girls do… And maybe his privacy settings wouldn’t even allow-

His Instagram was set to public. But there were not a lot of posts. Just over one hundred. El scrolled down and saw that nearly all of his posts were of Mike with a blonde girl that El assumed was Stephanie. She clicked on the most recent one and saw that it was posted over two months ago.

El scrolled through the photos, noting how happy they both looked together. There were cute, everyday-type of photos, but there was also a post on their two-year anniversary about how much he loved her, a photo of the two of them standing in front of a Christmas tree with their arms around each other, one wishing her a happy birthday. There was one that Stephanie took in the “Ellen selfie” style, and El recognized Dustin in the group and assumed the others were the rest of the “party.” There were pictures from homecoming and from a wedding, which the caption told El was Mike’s sister’s wedding.

She scrolled back up to the top, passing over two years’ worth of happy moments from Mike and Stephanie’s relationship. El clicked on one of the pictures and saw that Stephanie was still tagged in it. Out of curiosity, El clicked on Stephanie’s name and was redirected to Stephanie’s Instagram, which was also a public profile.

Like many girls their age, Stephanie’s Instagram had a bunch of posts. Over six hundred, in fact. El scrolled down and saw that most of the photos were selfies, though some showed Stephanie in her cheerleading uniform, some had other girls in the photos who El assumed were Stephanie’s friends, and some were pictures of sunsets and nature. One of the most recent posts was just posted within the past week, and it showed Stephanie with some football-player-type guy. The caption told El that this guy’s name was Troy and that Troy and Stephanie had recently celebrated one month of dating… 

It clicked in El’s head. Stephanie had left Mike for this guy, who El could only assume was a lot like Jason. El looked at the bright smile on Stephanie’s face, her perfectly-done makeup bringing out her sharp blue eyes (no doubt with help from an Instagram filter), in the arms of this Troy guy who was kissing her cheek. 

“What a bitch,” El muttered under her breath as she closed out of the app.

By then, one of the three showers in the large bathroom had shut off, so El got up and gathered her clothes and headed toward the shower to get ready for the day.

Their training sessions went smoothly, though the afternoon seemed to drag on for El. She enjoyed the little break between lessons two and three when everyone would wash up after dissection, and El once again used this opportunity to chat with Mike at the sink. Of course, he told her how pretty she looked today, and El blushed as she thanked him.

“So, were you serious about wanting to find a place to sneak out to in the woods?” Mike asked quietly.

“I thought it could be fun,” El replied casually. “What would summer camp be without a little bit of adventure?”

“Okay,” Mike chuckled. “Do you want to go explore after dinner tonight?”

“Yeah!” El exclaimed, happy that he was on board. And so it was settled.

Late that afternoon, as they were all finishing their dinner, Suzie suggested that the four of them go for a swim or hang out by the lake. A sly grin crossed Dustin’s face when he noticed the look that Mike and El shared when they did not immediately agree to hang out together.

“I’m sorry, did you two have other plans?” Dustin teased, and Mike shot him a glare.

“Yeah, we thought it might be fun to kind of explore the woods a bit,” El explained with a shrug.

“But why would you want to-” the realization struck Suzie, “-oooh. I get it.”

El felt her cheeks heating up at the amused smile that had covered Suzie’s face.

“Well, you two do all the exploring you want,” Dustin goaded. “Might I suggest exploring the equipment shed off the path leading toward the lake? There’s also a small clearing halfway between the cafeteria and classrooms C and D that Suzie and I have explored once or twice.”

Suzie swatted Dustin’s leg under the table, and her own cheeks turned a light shade of pink as Mike cleared his throat uncomfortably.

“Thanks for the, uh, suggestions,” Mike said.

After they had finished eating and clearing their trays, Dustin and Suzie left hand-in-hand to let Mike and El carry on their plans for the evening.

They decided to check out the clearing that Dustin had recommended, and as Mike and El walked from the cafeteria and ventured off the path and into the woods, El found it nearly impossible to keep her eyes off Mike. The breeze blew his dark curls, and El imagined how soft they felt when she caressed her hands through them. When he looked over and smiled at her – a genuine smile that lit up his deep, dark eyes – El could feel her heart literally warming inside her chest. And when she reached out to take his hand, El almost giggled when she saw Mike’s cheeks blush still. Faintly, Stephanie’s smiling face from those Instagram posts that El saw this morning came into her mind, and El wondered how any girl could have been stupid enough to let Mike go. El had only known him for less than a week, and she could not believe the way he was making her feel.

A short time later, Mike and El arrived at a small clearing. They were welcomed by a grassy area with wildflowers interspersed throughout, and Mike led her into the middle of the clearing.

“This must be it,” he observed, and El nodded, looking around.

“It looks like Dustin knew what he was talking about,” she grinned, and Mike chuckled.

“Yeah, he does every once in a while,” he said.

“I know he teases us, but I just feel like he means well. He seems like a good friend,” El said.

“He is,” Mike nodded sincerely.

El smiled and knelt down to the ground, picking a wildflower from next to her feet. Mike sat down on his knees, facing her, and watched while she spun the flower in between her fingers. God, she was beautiful.

“What about the others?” El asked suddenly.

“Others?” Mike repeated, furrowing his brow.

“You said you have, like, four best friends,” El reminded him with a grin. “What are they like?”

“Oh,” Mike exhaled, stretching his legs out in front of him. “You want to know about my friends?”

“Of course,” El replied, leaning comfortably to the side and supporting herself with one arm while still twirling the wildflower in her other hand.

“Okay, um, well you know Dustin,” Mike started. “There’s Will. He has been my best friend since kindergarten. He’s pretty shy around people he doesn’t know, and he’s really in to art… really good at it, too.”

“What kind of art?” El asked, and Mike noticed her eyebrows raise in genuine curiosity.

“Drawing. He’s so good at it,” Mike replied. “It puts anything I could ever try to shame.”

“You? I’m lucky if you can tell if the stick figures I draw are boys or girls,” El laughed.

“I’m sure it isn’t that bad,” Mike smiled.

“Oh, no, it is,” El insisted. “But when I was a kid, no one told me how bad at drawing I was. I used to draw these pictures for Mama all the time about things I wished we could do together-”

El stopped abruptly as if something had caught in her throat. Mike was about to ask if she ever got to do those things that she drew, but something about the look in El’s eyes stopped him.

“I’m sure she loved them,” he said instead.

A sad smile crossed El’s lips, and the tears brimming her eyelids twinkled. She gave Mike’s hand an appreciatory squeeze before inhaling and exhaling a deep breath.

“So, Will’s your best friend. He’s shy and artsy,” El recapped, and Mike chuckled at the simplicity with which she described his best friend. “What about the other two?”

Mike decided to go along with her abrupt change in subject, reverting back to their discussion of his friends. Clearly, the talk about her mom had started to get too deep, and the last thing Mike wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

“Lucas is really chill most of the time, but he likes to tell it like it is, and he can be pretty blunt,” Mike continued. “Of course, that can get him in to trouble sometimes with his girlfriend Max.”

“Ah, the party’s only girl,” El observed teasingly, and Mike’s cheeks blushed, though he knew she was not actually making fun of him and his friends.

“Max and I didn’t get along the greatest in the beginning, but we’re cool now,” Mike said and then hesitated. “She, uh, she was actually really supportive after Stephanie broke up with me. I don’t know why, but it made me appreciate her more.”

Hearing Stephanie’s name caused the blonde girl’s face to flash in El’s mind.

“Why didn’t you like Max at first?” El asked, and Mike shrugged.

“I don’t know, it was stupid, really,” he said. “She was just annoying, and Lucas was super into her, so I was kind of worried that him bringing a girl around all the time would be the start of the party falling apart.”

El smiled sympathetically like she understood.

“But Dustin and Will liked her right away, too. I got used to her being around, but she and I clashed a lot,” Mike continued. “Then a year later I started dating Stephanie, and Max and Steph were not the biggest fans of each other.”

“Really?” El asked, her eyes widening.

“God, no,” Mike laughed. “Maybe that’s why Max was so much nicer to me after Stephanie dumped me. She wouldn’t have to see her around anymore.”

“Or maybe Max saw all along that there was something not right with you and Stephanie,” El suggested carefully. “Maybe Max was happy because she knew you were better off.”

“You think Max could’ve seen something over the last two years that I didn’t see?” Mike asked skeptically.

“It’s possible,” El shrugged. “Girls are pretty perceptive when it comes to other girls.”

“Hmm,” Mike hummed quietly. He had never thought of that before.

“But regardless, I’m glad that you and Max are friends now. She sounds cool. They all do,” El said.

“They’re the best,” Mike nodded.

He watched as El tossed the wildflower she had been twirling off to the side and laid down on her back, looking up at the sky between the trees.

“You’re lucky that you have such a close group of friends,” she said, and Mike felt a pang in his chest for her as he remembered that El does not have many friends.

“I am,” Mike agreed as he positioned himself to lay on his back next to her. “But you don’t need a lot of friends if you have one or two you can really trust.”

“That’s true,” El sighed. She was silent for a moment before continuing. “I used to have more friends, but… Well, sometimes breakups cost you more than just the person you were dating, you know?”

Mike didn’t know. He had never considered any of Stephanie’s friends his own friends. But he heard the pain in El’s voice and glanced over at her as her hazel eyes remained fixed on the sky above.

“My last boyfriend Aaron and I had been friends since middle school, so when we finally started dating, we had a lot of mutual friends,” El said. “And then his friends became my friends, and my friends became his. Well, the breakup was messy, but private… But then he told his side to everyone before I had the chance, and… you know how high school is.”

Mike felt El shrug her shoulders next to him.

“So most of them took his side,” she finished. “I was left with a couple people who will still talk to me at school, and then of course my best friend Brandon.”

Another pang, this time in Mike’s stomach. Her best friend is a guy? Mike didn’t know what to think about that.

What’s there to think about? Her friends are her friends.

But he’s a guy… What if he is secretly in love with her?

Don’t be stupid. Guys and girls can be just friends. Look at you and Max.

That’s completely different. Besides, El is gorgeous… How could he NOT be secretly in love with her?

“I swear I wouldn’t survive at that school without Brandon. He really got me through that breakup… well, he and his boyfriend Ethan,” El added.

Mike’s head snapped to face El.

“So – wait – Brandon… y-your best friend – he’s gay?” he asked.

El turned to see relief in Mike’s eyes, and her lips curled into an amused smile as she propped herself up on one elbow and turned her body to face him.

“Would it have mattered if he wasn’t?” she asked.

Mike’s mouth dropped open and his eyebrows raised.

“No! No, of course not,” he said immediately. “I mean, you can obviously be friends with whoever you want-”

He cut off his rambling when El started laughing, and he soon chuckled and laid back down, able to relax.

“Have I told you you’re cute when you get nervous?” El teased as she laid back down as well, this time resting her head on Mike’s chest.

Mike chuckled but said nothing, just wrapped his arm around her to hold her close against himself.

“But yes, Brandon is gay. You have nothing to worry about… not that you would’ve anyway,” El said.

Mike squeezed his arm around her, and then the two of them laid silently, looking up at the sky that had changed from blue to orange with the setting sun. He breathed in the aroma of grass, flowers, trees, and El’s shampoo, which was the sweetest scent of all. Mike closed his eyes and listened to her breathing and focused on the feel of her fingers drawing circles on his chest.

When El glanced up to see Mike’s eyes closed, she couldn’t help but smile at how peaceful he looked. She shimmied her way up so that her face was in line with his, and she softly dipped her head down to connect her lips with his.

Mike had been in that serene state between being awake and being asleep when he felt El’s soft lips land on his. He was quick to kiss her back, his lips moving as she parted hers and he tasted the fruity chapstick she was wearing. Mike raised his hand into El’s soft, chestnut waves and tangled his fingers in them, while El’s hand traced up his chest and cupped the side of his face.

They shifted so they were both laying on their sides, never breaking their kiss. Mike’s one hand remained in El’s hair while the other traced down the side of her body and gently caressed the small of her back.

When their lips finally separated, El rested her forehead against Mike’s and let out a contented sigh against his lips. Mike brushed the hair out of her face and kissed the tip of her nose, and El looked up at him, her hazel eyes shining in the growing darkness. He still couldn’t believe this was happening for him. It felt just like yesterday that his heart was broken, and now, here he was holding this beautiful girl in his arms who was starting to put it back together.

“What?” El whispered when Mike had stared at her for several moments without speaking.

“You’re just… so incredible,” Mike whispered.

“So are you,” El smiled and leaned in for another kiss.

She pulled back again, and Mike rolled onto his back, allowing El to rest her head on his chest again. El watched as Mike reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and lit up the screen. She groaned when she saw it was 8:40pm.

“I don’t want to go,” she pouted comically.

“I know,” Mike sighed. “But at least we found our spot.”

“You think so?” El asked, sitting up.

“Don’t you?” Mike asked as he sat up as well. “It’s perfect. It’s so quiet here, and no one came anywhere near us.”

El nodded her agreement. Mike was right; they were left completely alone all evening. Certainly, the same would be true during the night as well.

They stood up and began walking in the direction of the female counselors’ cabin. When they got there, it was ten minutes until nine o’clock. The moon was visible above the trees, and the dusk was starting to turn to darkness. El turned to face Mike, still holding his hand, next to the stairs leading up to the cabin.

“Tonight was fun,” she smiled.

“Yeah it was,” Mike agreed with a smile just as big. “So, when do you want to, you know…”

“Sneak out?” El finished for him amusedly.

“Yeah,” Mike chuckled.

“Hmm… How about Saturday night?” El suggested. “We could wait until everyone is asleep and plan for, like, 1am?”

“Saturday night sounds perfect,” Mike agreed.

“Awesome! Oh – and, wear a swimsuit. I think it would be fun to go down to the lake at night,” El said excitedly.

Mike couldn’t help but melt from the excitement on her face, so he nodded.

“Sure,” he said.

“Well, you should get going,” El pointed out, and Mike nodded. “Text me when you get back to your cabin.”

“I will. Good night, El,” Mike said and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

“Good night, Mike,” El replied and offered him another small smile before he turned to head back toward the woods.

She let out a deep sigh and entered the cabin, unable to wipe the smile from her face, which the other girls couldn’t help but notice. El changed clothes and climbed into bed, thinking that Saturday could not come soon enough.


	6. Chapter 6

The last couple days of the week seemed to fly by. Friday had actually been an enjoyable day of training sessions, as the counselors got to see the end results of the projects in each of their lessons. Mindy had suggested that all eight of them hold on to their balloon-powered cars, terrariums, and crystals so they could use them as examples when leading their students.

Friday’s only hiccup was during the biology lesson when the fetal pigs were unveiled. Mike had to admit, he was not overly excited about this dissection. Sure, he liked science, but dissecting a pig? Luckily for him, Suzie was not too grossed out by it, and she did assist. Mike and Suzie, and Dustin and El, were the two pairs who actually worked well together during that, the most difficult of the dissections. Dani audibly gasped when Tom uncovered their fetal pig, and she immediately refused to touch it, even shuddering each time she looked at it.

“How are you possibly going to help me with the campers on Fridays if you can’t participate while we’re practicing?” Tom had asked what Mike thought was a valid question.

Dani didn’t answer, but glared and scoffed at her partner before moving her paper and pencil to the end of the table, as far away as possible from the dissection, to take the notes.

Meanwhile at Eric and Kayla’s table, Kayla had actually done more of the work than Eric who was busy feeding in to Dani’s squeals and protests. Kayla rolled her eyes and redirected Eric several times to help her. 

When Saturday morning rolled around, all the counselors were ready for a day of free time. Mike woke up as Jason was walking out of the bathroom in just his boxer briefs, his shoulder still damp from the shower. Jason walked over to wear Eric was standing near their set of bunkbeds and pulled out a pair of shorts and a cutoff.

“You about to go for some breakfast?” Jason asked.

“Yeah, I’m meeting Dani there,” Eric replied.

“She give it up yet?” Jason asked, and Mike rolled his eyes from his bottom bunk and pulled out his phone to attempt to ignore them.

“No, not yet. But I’m spending all of today and most of tomorrow with her,” Eric said.

“Good luck. I’ve been making good use of that equipment shed with Nikki, if you need somewhere to go,” Jason offered, and Mike mentally thanked the universe that he and El never actually checked out the shed after finding their spot in the woods.

“Do you guys have to talk about the girls like that? They’re not objects or conquests for you to brag about,” said a voice that shocked Jason, Eric, and Mike.

Mike looked over the top of his phone to see Tom standing behind Jason and Eric. He had just come out of the shower and heard the end of their conversation.

“Wow. The nerd does speak,” Jason scoffed, and Tom rolled his eyes.

“Yes, I’m a nerd, so funny. You’re at science camp, so I don’t know what you were expecting,” Tom said. He then muttered, “They should just do away with that stupid phys ed portion.”

“The nerd seems feisty,” Eric chuckled.

“Listen, we’re talking about shit your virgin ears shouldn’t be hearing. So go on back to your comic books or whatever you do,” Jason said before turning back to Eric. “I’ll walk with you to breakfast.”

Jason and Eric left the cabin without another word. After the door closed, Mike laid his phone back down and walked over toward Tom.

“I thought it was pretty cool of you to stand up for the girls like that,” Mike said.

“Thanks,” Tom sighed. “I just hate that there’s always at least one jock here. The phys ed positions, plus parents viewing this as perfect for a resume, guarantees one or two per year.”

“Yeah, they’re pretty shitty,” Mike nodded.

“That Jason guy is,” Tom agreed. “Eric didn’t used to be. He was in my camper group one year back when we were twelve, before he was in to sports like he is now.”

“So you know each other?” Mike asked.

“I wouldn’t say so. I thought he looked familiar, and then when we did introductions, I recognized his name, and a day or two later I remembered why. I don’t think he remembers me at all though. We were in the same group for one week four years ago,” Tom shrugged. “But he was a lot nicer back then. He definitely knows how to be a good guy. This whole asshole jock personality he has now is way different.”

Just then, Dustin stepped out of the bathroom having showered and gotten ready for the day. 

“Mike, you’re not ready to go? We’re supposed to meet the girls for breakfast,” he said, raising his arms in exasperation.

“Calm down, I’ll be ready in fifteen minutes,” Mike replied and then turned back to Tom. “Do you want to go to breakfast with us?”

“Nah, thanks though. I’m probably going to grab some breakfast to go and then come back here and do my laundry,” Tom said.

They said goodbye, and then Tom left, leaving just Dustin and Mike in the cabin. Mike recounted for Dustin how Tom had stood up to Jason and Eric and that Tom knew Eric when they were younger.

“Crazy how people can change from joining a damn sports team,” Dustin said, shaking his head.

Mike nodded his head. He, of course, already knew how quickly someone could change from newfound athleticism or popularity.

Fifteen minutes later, Mike had showered and dressed for the day, and he and Dustin were on their way to meet El and Suzie for breakfast.

“So, how are things going with El?” Dustin asked as they made their way up the path from their cabin.

“Things are going great,” Mike smiled. “Like, way better than they probably should be, knowing my luck. Things are just so easy, and she actually wants to hear about my friends and my interests, and I could listen to her talk about hers for hours. It’s like I never want it to end when we’re together.”

“That’s how things are supposed to feel,” Dustin laughed.

“It didn’t feel this way with Stephanie,” Mike said.

“Okay, correction. That’s how things are supposed to feel when you’re with someone who is not a batshit crazy, superficial bitch,” Dustin said.

Ordinarily, Mike would not like Dustin referring to a girl as a bitch, but he had gotten used to all his friends referring to Stephanie as such after what she did. Plus, they had a point.

“I guess you’re right,” Mike said. “But Steph’s all I knew for two years, and she’s all I’ve known about dating in general.”

“Well, El is a completely different person, and now you’re getting to know something totally different from everything in your past,” Dustin said. “So embrace it.”

“I have been,” Mike said. “I just… I really keep waiting for something to go wrong and for this to completely blow up in my face. She’s gorgeous, she’s smart, she likes Star Wars. She really seems to care about me, and somehow I get to spend hours talking to this perfect person? And I get to make out with her?”

“That’s literally what a relationship is, you dumbass,” Dustin laughed. “Get out of your head. Stop looking for what could go wrong, and enjoy everything that’s going right. You only have five weeks left of seeing her every day.”

“Yeah, I know,” Mike’s face fell. That’s something he had been trying to avoid thinking about. “We’ve been spending a lot of time in that clearing you told us about.”

“Nice,” Dustin smirked.

“We actually plan on breaking curfew tonight and meeting up out there for a few hours,” Mike admitted.

“What?! Breaking curfew and sneaking out to meet a girl in the woods. I’m impressed,” Dustin approved.

“Haven’t you and Suzie ever?” Mike asked.

“Suzie is a good girl at heart, and sneaking out is something I’ve never been able to convince her to do,” Dustin replied sadly. “So, we’ve had to do all our sneaking around in the day time. Luckily, after spending the last six years of my life at this place, I know a few more places than the ones I told you.”

Mike laughed at the proud smile Dustin had on his face.

“Well, you can keep those to yourself. El and I really like the clearing. It’s so peaceful,” Mike said.

“It is,” Dustin agreed. “So what time are you executing this great escape?”

“Probably around 1am,” Mike replied.

“Just be careful. It is still a dark woods, after all,” Dustin said.

“Of course,” Mike agreed.

They reached the cafeteria and found El and Suzie waiting outside for them. Dustin greeted Suzie with a kiss on the lips, while Mike and El shared a warm smile. The four of them went inside to get their food. A few minutes later, they were seated at a table with heaping plates of biscuits and gravy. 

“So, what do you guys want to do today?” Dustin asked through bites of biscuit.

“I should do a load of laundry at some point,” Mike said.

“Living the high life,” Dustin remarked sarcastically.

“I know, so exciting. But if you want me to keep wearing pants, I’ll need to wash some clothes,” Mike retorted.

“By all means,” Dustin chuckled.

“I need to call home today. I told my parents I would call every Saturday,” Suzie chimed in.

“I have some laundry I should do, too,” El said.

“Jeez, you guys are just the most exciting people I know,” Dustin teased.

“How about after breakfast we part ways for a couple hours to do what we need to do, and then we can do something fun in the afternoon,” Suzie suggested. “We could hike one of those old trails near the lake.”

“That would be fun,” Dustin agreed. “What do you two think?”

Mike and El agreed to the plan. After breakfast, Dustin left to walk with Suzie to the administration hall so she could call her parents, and Mike and El agreed to each go grab their laundry and meet in the laundry room.

When Mike and El arrived at the laundry room, they walked into a cold room with cinderblock walls lined with eight washers and eight dryers. Tom was seated at a table along one wall and Kayla was seated at a table along the opposite wall. Three of the washers were in use. Mike and El loaded their clothes into the washers, each utilizing two machines, and then claimed a table for themselves.

“I didn’t know there were hiking trails here,” El said.

“Well, she did say it’s an old hiking trail, so I wonder if they aren’t in use anymore,” Mike said.

“Hmm. Then we probably aren’t supposed to be there… We’re turning in to such rulebreakers,” El laughed, and Mike couldn’t help but smile at the sound of her laughter.

“Speaking of that, you still want to meet up tonight after everyone goes to sleep, right?” he asked.

“Of course. Don’t you?” El asked.

“Yeah! Definitely. I was just making sure,” Mike said.

El nodded and then gazed around the room. Her eyes fell on a small bookshelf with a collection of board games and card games to help pass the time.

“Do you like Yahtzee?” she asked suddenly.

“I love Yahtzee,” Mike replied.

“Wait right here,” El said.

She hopped up, and Mike watched as she crossed the room to the bookshelf and started walking back toward him with the game of Yahtzee in her hands.

“I’ll have you know, I’m undefeated at this game,” Mike warned her with a smile as she pulled the dice and scorecards out.

“Until today,” El teased.

They spent the next hour and a half playing Yahtzee, stopping only to switch their clothes from the washers to the dryers. In the end, Mike remained victorious, having beat El twice at the game. 

“You have to actually roll for chance. Don’t just use a bunch of rejects to fill it, or you’ll end up with a low number,” Mike was saying as they exited the laundry room. “And you should always have at least three of a kind in your ones and twos, otherwise those low numbers will hurt you and you probably won’t get the bonus.”

“You actually have tricks to a game that is supposed to be completely based on the luck of the roll,” El said.

“I don’t remain undefeated by accident,” Mike quipped.

“Fair enough,” El laughed. 

They parted ways to take their laundry back to their respective cabins, and Mike said he would come back and meet El at hers. When he arrived at the female counselors’ cabin, El was sitting on the steps outside. She jumped up when Mike reached her.

“Suzie texted me,” she said. “She and Dustin are down by the lake, and she said for us to meet them there whenever we’re finished with laundry.”

As Mike and El walked the path to the lake, Mike casually reached out to link his fingers with El’s. El smiled at how much easier it was becoming for him to initiate little acts of affection like that. They soon reached the lake and found Dustin and Suzie sitting on a large rock.

“We found the entrance to one of the old hiking trails. It’s a few feet behind all those bushes and weeds,” Suzie pointed off to the left.

“I wonder why they closed the hiking trails,” El thought out loud.

“Probably a liability or something,” Dustin shrugged. “Kids could fall and get hurt or something.”

“Wouldn’t the lake be a liability too, then? Or all the paths we have to go down to get anywhere in this camp?” El wondered.

“I don’t know. I don’t make the rules,” Dustin shrugged again. “But are you still in?”

“Of course,” El replied.

“Good. Because while you two were off doing laundry,” Dustin said with a sly grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows.

“Well, we were actually doing laundry, but continue,” Mike said dryly.

“I’m sure that’s all you were doing, Michael,” Dustin retorted.

“You’re right. I left on thing out, we were also playing Yahtzee,” Mike added.

“Oh good God,” Dustin muttered.

“Not my choice! Totally her choice!” Mike exclaimed and pointed at El.

“Did he tell you he is undefeated?” Dustin asked El, and El nodded. “Did he tell you he is undefeated because we’ve all only play together, like, four times?”

“Doesn’t matter, still counts,” Mike insisted.

“Anyway,” Suzie interjected.

“Sorry,” Mike and Dustin both muttered.

“Back to what you were saying, Dusty-bun,” Suzie redirected.

“Right. While you two were doing laundry, Suzie and I got prepared for our little afternoon stroll through the unknown,” Dustin said, lifting his backpack and unzipping it. “I have water, bug spray, sunscreen, a pocketknife, a first aid kit, a flashlight, and most importantly, snacks.”

“Hopefully we won’t need about half of that stuff,” Mike said. “But good thinking.”

“All right, if you guys are all ready, off we go!” Dustin said, slinging his backpack over his shoulder.

The four of them made their way through the weeds blocking off the entrance to the hiking trail, and they stared up the path into the woods. Dustin was leading the way, followed by Suzie, then El, and Mike was in the back. They hiked over the uneven terrain, up and down hills, squeezing through narrow spots between trees. 

As Mike walked behind El, he couldn’t help but notice her tan shoulders start to glisten with sweat. His eyes naturally traveled down her body that her yellow tank top clung to, landing on her smooth tan legs. He watched her calf muscles as she secured her footing, and his eyes traveled higher to her toned thighs.

He scolded himself for staring at her like she was some piece of meat. He knew this made him no better than Jason and Eric this morning. But he couldn’t help that she was wearing those short shorts and hiking right in front of him.

“Let’s stop for some water,” Dustin suggested from up ahead.

Mike shook the thoughts out of his head and stopped walking next to El. Dustin pulled two water bottles out of his backpack and handed one to El, keeping the other for himself and Suzie.

“Figured you guys wouldn’t mind sharing,” Dustin explained.

El took a long drink of the cold water before handing it over to Mike. 

“What do you guys think so far?” Suzie asked after taking a drink herself.

“Definitely getting a workout. But it’s a lot of fun,” El replied, and Mike nodded in agreement as he closed the water bottle.

“It feels, like, twenty degrees cooler in here, being surrounded by the trees without the sun beating down,” Dustin observed. “Guess we didn’t really need that sunscreen.”

They continued on their way, and Mike did his best to behave and not eye El the whole time. Ahead of him, El was looking around and appreciating the nature they were walking through. Living in Chicago, she was used to concrete and noise constantly. She had to go out of her way for any peace. Passing through the trees with just a small group of friends was something completely new to her, and she wanted to soak in every moment.

The next time they stopped, it was because they encountered a small stream. There was a path going overtop the stream and further into the woods, but there was also a small cliff off to the left that overlooked the stream. Dustin wiped his brow, unzipped his backpack, and handed out the water again.

“What do you guys want to do? Keep going across the stream? Head back?” he asked.

“Can we climb up there?” El asked, pointing toward the cliff.

“I don’t exactly have rock climbing gear with me,” Dustin said.

“It looks only ten-to-twelve feet tall, Dusty-bun. And I think there’s an easier path toward the back of it,” Suzie pointed. “I think it would be fun to check it out, too.”

“Anything for you, Suzie-poo,” Dustin sighed.

They put the water away and walked over to the base of the small cliff. As Suzie had suspected, around the back of it, there was an easier, albeit still somewhat demanding, path to climb to the top. Carefully, they made their way to the top, step by step. It took several minutes, as they had to steady themselves against the rocks and dirt on the way up, but eventually, they all four made it safely to the top.

El stood near the middle of the cliff and looked around, taking in the view and the smell of the trees around her, the sound of the stream below, and the feel of the beam of sun shining its way through the leaves. She walked closer to the side to look at the drop below, and she smiled when she felt Mike join her by her side. El took another step closer to the edge.

“Be careful,” Mike warned gently.

“It’s so pretty up here,” El marveled.

“Yeah, it is,” Mike agreed.

The four of them took several minutes to enjoy the view and catch their breath and give their bodies a break before they knew they would have to make the trek back.

“Should we head back down?” Dustin asked after a bit of silent time had passed.

El wasn’t ready to leave just yet, and she certainly didn’t want to forget this place. She wasn’t sure that they would make the hike again, so she pulled her phone out.

“Let’s take a picture,” she suggested. “The view is perfect for it.”

“Yeah!” Suzie exclaimed, while Dustin groaned. Suzie grabbed her boyfriend’s hand and dragged him over to where Mike and El were standing near the edge. “Come on, Dusty, for me.”

They huddled together, and El extended her arm to snap the photo of the four of them with as much of the trees in the background that she could capture.

“Could you take one of just me and Dustin?” Suzie asked, handing El her own phone.

“Of course,” El smiled.

El took a few steps back with Suzie’s phone, and Suzie and Dustin stood near the edge. Dustin placed his arm around Suzie’s waist, and the two of them smiled for the picture.

“Thank you!” Suzie beamed after El had taken the photo. Then Suzie reached for El’s phone. “Now I’ll get one of you and Mike.”

El saw that Mike was a bit taken aback by the offer, and when he looked up to meet El’s eyes, she sent him a silent look asking if he wanted to.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” Mike agreed.

Mike and El stepped to the spot where Dustin and Suzie had had their photo taken. El placed her hand on Mike’s back, and she felt him wrap his arm around her waist. They smiled as Suzie took the picture, and when El looked at it afterward, she thought it was perfect. The trees made the perfect background, and the small stream could even be seen flowing behind them.

“Are you going to put those on Instagram?” Suzie asked. “Because I just put the one of me and Dustin up. I have three bars of service up here right now.”

“Really?” El asked and looked at the top right corner of her phone. “Oh, wow. I have three bars right now too.”

“So that’s why they keep this place from us. They don’t want us to find the secret cell service,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, that’s why. It has nothing to do with the rocks or the stream or the cliff,” Mike deadpanned.

“Yeah, if you don’t mind waiting a couple minutes, let me post these real quick,” El answered Suzie, ignoring the boys.

“Here, I’ll follow you real quick. Follow me back and tag me!” Suzie said.

Suzie opened Instagram again and went to the option to search for people to follow. She scrolled through her contacts until finding El and clicked the follow button. El immediately received the notification and clicked to follow her back.

“Dustin, why don’t you follow El too,” Suzie suggested. “You too, Mike.”

Dustin pulled out his phone to do what Suzie had said, but Mike was more hesitant. He would have no problem with El knowing he had Instagram, or even with them following each other. But he knew that he hadn’t cleansed his Instagram of all the pictures of his and Stephanie’s relationship, and he was worried that El might get upset if she saw them.

“Mike, are you going to follow me?” El asked, looking over at him after she followed Dustin back.

“Um, yeah, I can do that,” Mike replied hesitantly.

He pulled out his phone to go to Instagram and follow El. El suspected that his hesitation was due to all the pictures of Stephanie that she knew were on his profile, and she offered him a soft smile. When she received the follow notification, El followed Mike back immediately.

“Okay, I’m going to post it, I’ll tag you all, and then we can go back,” El said. 

She posted the two pictures – the selfie of the four of them and the one Suzie had taken of her and Mike – with a quick caption and tagged the other three. Then El slid her phone back into her pocket, and the four of them set off back down from the cliff.

The trek back through the woods was easier, as they had hiked this path just a couple hours ago. They stopped once about halfway to drink some water, and then the continued on their way. Soon, they reached the entrance to the hiking trail, and the exited through the weeds.

“That was so much fun,” Suzie grinned.

“It was,” El agreed. “Great idea.”

It was well into the afternoon, and they had missed their opportunity for lunch, so they decided to head back to their respective cabins to shower and get cleaned up from the hike, and they would meet up for dinner.

After dinner, Dustin and Suzie left to do their laundry, suspecting that everyone else would be finished with the laundry room by now. Mike and El both agreed that they were tired after the afternoon hike, and they thought they should get some sleep early so they would be awake later on when they had planned to meet up. So, Mike was walking with El to her cabin.

He kept glancing nervously at her out of the corner of his eye. Of course, El knew he had dated a girl named Stephanie. This would not come as a surprise. But he was worried that as soon as they parted ways, El was going to check out his Instagram and see all the pictures of him with Stephanie and get upset.

“El, there’s something I want to tell you, and it may not be a big deal, but I just want to get it out there,” he said.

“What is it?” El asked.

“It’s just, I don’t want you to be surprised by anything if you look at my Instagram,” Mike said. “I hardly ever used it other than when Stephanie wanted to take a picture together, so my entire profile is pretty much pictures with her, and I just haven’t gotten around to deleting them. I didn’t want you to see it and get upset or think that I still have feelings for her or anything.”

“It’s okay,” El smiled, her mind flashing back to the pictures she had seen when she looked at his Instagram earlier in the week. “I wouldn’t think that. And you don’t have to delete them. They’re just pictures.”

Mike felt relieved. It wasn’t a big deal after all. Maybe El wasn’t the jealous type.

“And if we’re being honest,” El continued, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. “I already saw the pictures of you and Stephanie.”

“What? When?” Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

“The other day. Instagram sent me a notification – you know how it recommends people to follow,” El explained. “I saw your profile, and I just kind of scrolled through it.”

“So, you spied on me,” Mike said teasingly after a moment of silence.

“I wouldn’t call it spying. Your profile is set to public,” El laughed.

“I guess that’s true,” Mike chuckled.

They continued to walk in silence until the cabin came in to view.

“Text me when you’re leaving your cabin tonight, and I’ll leave mine,” El said.

“Okay. Have a nice nap,” Mike said.

“See you tonight,” El said as she lifted up onto her tiptoes to kiss Mike on the lips. “And remember – swimsuits.”

“Right,” Mike nodded. “See you tonight.”

El went inside the cabin and changed into sleep shorts and a tank top. She crawled in to bed and fell asleep seconds after her head hit the pillow.

Just before nine o’clock, El was jostled out of her slumber by the sounds of the other female counselors coming into the cabin.

“I spent the whole day with Eric. He’s actually really sweet when he’s by himself,” Dani was saying to Nikki.

“If he’s only sweet when he’s not around others, he isn’t actually sweet,” Kayla warned, not looking at Dani as she pulled her nightclothes out.

“Well, you don’t know him,” Dani said defensively.

“You’re right. I don’t,” Kayla said, and then she gathered her things and walked toward the bathroom to take a shower without another word.

“You’re asleep this early? Are you feeling okay?” Suzie asked as she crawled into El’s bottom bunk and sat down.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” El nodded, sitting up. “I was just tired from the hike today. Plus… well, I’m actually meeting Mike in a few hours.”

“What?!” Suzie asked in a hushed whisper.

“We’re going to sneak out and meet in that spot and then go swimming in the lake,” El explained quietly.

“Just be sure you don’t get caught,” Suzie cautioned.

“I know, I know. It’s just, I love spending time with him, and there’s something about the thrill of sneaking out at night… I’m just really excited,” El said, feeling like a giddy schoolgirl.

“You two are so cute,” Suzie smiled. “I’m happy things are going well for you.”

“Me too,” El agreed.

A while later, all the girls had laid down in bed. By 11:30, El couldn’t hear Dani and Nikki’s hushed conversation anymore, so she figured they had all fallen asleep. Her own eyelids were starting to feel heavy, but El did her best to stay awake. She figured she could give in and nap for another hour. El set her alarm for 12:30am and made sure her alarm tone was set to vibrate. She placed her phone under her pillow and let sleep overtake her for another hour.

At 12:30, El’s phone began vibrating aggressively underneath her pillow, startling her awake. She quickly turned off the alarm, silencing the vibration before it had the chance to awaken anyone. Quietly, she climbed out of her bed and slid pulled out the bikini and clothes she had stashed under her blankets at the foot of her bed. She crossed into the bathroom to change, and she ran a brush through her hair to make it look presentable. 

When El was ready to go, the clock on her phone read 12:48am. She just had to wait for that text to come through from Mike. El could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach at the thought of what she was about to do. She had spent plenty of time alone with Mike over the last week, but something about sneaking out in the middle of the night, knowing it would only be the two of them, felt different. Suddenly, her phone vibrated. She glanced down and saw a text from Mike.

Leaving now. See you soon.

El smiled and quickly typed back.

On my way : )

El turned off the bathroom light and started to leave the bathroom, but then she paused. Going through the front door would require her to walk by all the girls, and she worried one of them would wake up to the sound of her opening the door. El turned and looked at the window in the bathroom. It was definitely large enough to climb in and out of. She pushed the window open, hoisted herself onto the windowsill, and carefully hopped down onto the ground. Then, she set off toward the woods.

El squinted to try and see the best she could in the dark, not wanting to turn on her phone’s flashlight until she was safely into the woods and out of anyone’s potential view. She and Mike had traveled these woods plenty of times in the daylight, and when El stepped off the path in the familiar spot, she knew it would be safe to turn on her flashlight.

Guided by the light at the end of her phone, El walked through the familiar terrain, crunching sticks below her feet. She felt her phone vibrate again and looked down to see another text from Mike.

Just got here.

El typed back.

Almost there.

She shined her light ahead and saw the trees that marked the edge of the clearing in the distance. El picked up her pace as much as she could while still safely maneuvering the dark woods. Finally, she reached the clearing.

Mike was waiting in the clearing, having gotten there minutes before. He saw a light shining through two of the trees, and soon El stepped into the open grassy area. She turned off her flashlight and slid her phone into her pocket, and then it was just the two of them, the only illumination from the moon and stars above.

“Hey,” El said softly, and Mike could hear the smile in her voice.

“Hi,” he replied.

Mike stepped toward her and reached for her hands, pulling her closer. Then his lips met hers softly, as one of his hands raised into her long wavy hair to cradle the back of her head while the other hand moved to hold her around the waist.

“I’ve been waiting to do this all day,” he murmured against her lips.

El smiled and let her fingers trace down the side of his face to his jaw. She liked to see how much he was opening up and becoming more forward than how he started a week ago.

“Me too,” she whispered and leaned back in for another kiss.

Mike took her hands again and guided her down to the ground. He wrapped his arms around her waist and let their kiss heat up. His tongue slid across El’s parted lips, and she opened them wider to accept him in and met him halfway with her own. 

El tangled her hands in Mike’s thick dark hair and rolled onto her back so he was halfway on top of her, propped up on one arm while they kissed. She wished they could stay just like this forever.

Mike started to pull back from their passionate kiss, not wanting to get too worked up. He softly pecked her lips before brushing her hair back from her face and watching as she opened her hazel eyes to look up at him.

“You’re beautiful,” he breathed.

El smiled and leaned up to kiss him again. Mike rolled over onto his back, and El nestled into their usual cuddling position with her head on his chest and her arm draped over him.

They laid there, Mike drawing circles on El’s back and holding her hand that was draped over him. Silently, they looked up at the stars in the night sky.

“It’s so nice being away from the city,” El sighed.

Mike squeezed her against him and kissed the top of her head, smelling the floral scent of her shampoo. They continue to lay, looking up at the bright specks in the black sky above them, feeling so small in comparison to the vast sky, and just listening to each other’s breathing.

Neither of them knew how much time had passed before El sat up and took Mike’s hand. She pulled him to his feet, a smile plastered to her face.

“Come on,” she said and led him back toward the woods.

Mike let her pull him along, knowing exactly what her end destination was. When they finally arrived at the lake, both Mike and El were in awe of the white reflections from the moon rippling in the water.

El dropped Mike’s hand and lifted her tank top over her head and tossed it on a rock to the side. Then she shimmied out of her shorts and let them join her tank top. Mike’s eyes traveled down and back up her toned, tan body which was clad in only a blue bikini.

“Wow,” he breathed, and El giggled and bit her bottom lip.

Mike swallowed hard. He thought back to the last time he and El were in a similar situation. She had wanted him to join her, but he had let his stupid insecurities get in the way because of the other guys who were there… the other guys who were built better than him – not better, just differently, he forced his mind to tell himself… Mike had run away that night and missed out on time with El. And now here he was with another chance. It was just the two of them.

Mike let out a deep breath and moved his fingertips to the hem of his t-shirt. He pulled it off and tossed it onto the rock with El’s clothes. The insecurities were starting to creep back into his head as Mike stood there, exposed and completely vulnerable. His eyes finally met El’s, and she was staring at him with nothing but adoration. Relief washed over him, and he broke out into a smile, which El immediately reciprocated.

She took his hand, and they walked closer to the water, kicking off their shoes before reaching the tide. They walked out into the lake, both hitching their breath as the chilled water rose higher up their bodies. Finally, the water was just above Mike’s waist, meaning it had reached El’s chest. They both relaxed, letting their bodies fall into the water, the ripples flowing over their skin. El leaned backward, letting the water wet down her hair, and Mike watched as she moved upright again and glided toward him.

El wrapped her arms around Mike’s neck, the entire fronts of their bodies touching as she looked up into his eyes. He placed his hands on her hips underneath the water, feeling both her soft skin and the fabric of her bikini bottoms.

She pulled his lips down to hers and kissed him, toying with the ends of his hair with one hand while she lightly traced her other hand over his shoulder and down his bare chest.

When they pulled back, Mike looked into El’s blown pupils. The water glistened on her shoulders, arms, and chest, and her wet hair draped over her shoulders. The light from the moon shining off of her gave her even more of an angelic glow.

“You are so gorgeous,” Mike breathed. El moved her hand from his chest to the back of his neck and wrapped both of her arms around his neck again.

“So are you,” she whispered.

She leaned in again, and Mike and El became lost in each other. As they kissed, the rest of the world melted away, and all they could sense was each other as the water peacefully rippled around them and the moon shined down on them from above.


	7. Chapter 7

Week one of camp was well underway. The first round of young campers had arrived Sunday, and Mike and El had both tried their best to appear awake and energized. The truth was that they had stayed out until 4:30am Saturday night before Mike walked El back to her cabin and then hurried back to his own. 

Since that night, they had not snuck out again. They didn’t want to overdo it and risk getting caught, so they agreed on every Saturday night and maybe once or twice throughout the week. That meant that they did their best to make the most of their spot during the evenings after dinner.

It was Tuesday, and day two of the first week of camp had wrapped up for the day. Mike and El were sitting with Dustin and Suzie in the cafeteria for dinner which was, of course, more crowded now that the campers were there too. 

“How was your day?” Suzie asked Dustin.

“One of our girls started crying when she saw the starfish, and she refused to participate in the dissection because she didn’t want to, and I quote, kill Patrick,” Dustin replied, rolling his eyes.

“How old is she?” Mike asked, scrunching his forehead.

“Like ten or eleven,” Dustin shrugged. “Apparently young enough to still be emotionally invested in Spongebob characters.”

“Yeah, so I had to calm her down, and Dustin had to step in and help her partner with the dissection since the girl sat the lesson out,” El added.

“Other than that little mishap, it was great,” Dustin said. “What about you guys?”

“It was good. Nothing too exciting,” Mike shrugged, and Suzie nodded her agreement.

“Cool. So are you guys down for some volleyball tonight? Suzie has been dying to play again,” Dustin asked.

Mike opened his mouth to decline, but El nudged his leg under the table before he could speak. He turned to look at her, and she gave him a look that said they should probably hang out with their friends tonight. They had hardly seen Dustin and Suzie outside of the classroom and cafeteria, as Mike and El had spent all of their free time together. Mike sighed and silently agreed with El.

“Yeah, that sounds fun,” he said.

“Yay!” Suzie exclaimed, her face lighting up at the prospect of the four of them hanging out again. “I was thinking this time instead of playing as couples, we could do boys versus girls. So El would be my partner.”

“Sure,” El agreed, the smile creeping over her face due to Suzie referring to she and Mike as a couple. El snuck a glance at Mike out of the corner of her eye and saw that Mike’s cheeks were turned a light shade of pink, presumably for the same reason.

A little after 6pm, the four of them arrived at the volleyball court and split up onto opposing sides of the net. After some playful banter between Dustin and Suzie, Suzie served the ball, reminding everyone of how talented she was at this sport.

They all lost track of time, diving after the ball and laughing when they clumsily wound up face down in the sand, taking turns serving and taking do-overs when they served the ball right into the net, and losing count of the actual score but just accepting that Suzie and El had won the game.

“It’s settled,” Dustin panted, both hands on his hips. “Suzie is on my team from now on.”

“Hmm, I don’t know. I kind of liked kicking your butts with El,” Suzie teased, ducking underneath the volleyball net and walking up to peck her boyfriend on the lips.

“Yeah, it was fun,” El agreed, joining the other three on the other side of the net and looking at Mike with a playfully gloating smile.

“Definitely,” Suzie nodded, wiping the sweat from her brow.

“Worked up a sweat, did you, Suzie-poo?” Dustin teased.

“Just a little bit. Winning can be exhausting,” Suzie quipped back.

“Well maybe a nice dip in the lake will help cool you down,” Dustin said and lunged forward before Suzie could react. He wrapped his arms tightly around Suzie’s waist and hoisted her over his shoulder. Suzie shrieked and swatted at Dustin’s back, trying to wriggle out of his grasp as he carried her closer to the lake.

Mike and El watched in amusement as Suzie finally caused Dustin to lose his balance and they both fell into the sand. Suzie tried to stand up to run away, but Dustin pulled her back onto the ground. Within seconds, their laughing and wrestling turned into making out in the sand.

“Get a room, nerds! Nobody wants to see that!” called an unwelcome voice from behind them.

Dustin and Suzie broke apart and joined Mike and El in directing their gaze toward the source of the voice. Of course, Jason and Nikki were making their way out of the woods. There was a smirk on Jason’s lips, and Nikki was openly laughing at what he had said.

“Nobody is forcing you to watch, either,” Dustin retorted.

“Watch? No, that’s not my thing. But maybe you two perverts are into that?” Jason asked, gesturing back and forth between Dustin and Mike. “Watching might help you learn a thing or two.”

Jason roughly grabbed Nikki’s ass and crashed his open mouth into hers as if he were trying to swallow her whole.

“You’re disgusting,” Mike scoffed.

“Am I?” Jason asked. He opened his mouth to say more, but Nikki placed a hand on his chest and stepped in front of him.

“Let’s just go somewhere else. Don’t waste your time with them,” she suggested quietly.

Jason looked back and forth between Nikki and Mike a couple of times, clearly torn between wanting to humiliate two nerds and wanting to hook up with Nikki. Sex quickly won, and Jason took Nikki’s hand and the two of them disappeared back into the woods, presumably on their way toward the equipment shed that Jason had mentioned using.

“I can’t believe she lets him treat her like that. Especially in front of other people,” Suzie said when Jason and Nikki had gone.

The four of them spent the next half hour hanging out and talking by the lake. Mike and Dustin walked with the girls back to their cabin, and while Dustin and Suzie were saying goodbye to each other, El pulled Mike’s arms around her waist so she was pressed right up against him and leaned up to kiss him softly.

“Today was fun,” she said quietly. “I’m glad we spent some time with them.”

“Yeah, me too. But now I wish we had some time to ourselves,” Mike murmured.

“Well, we could…” El said slyly, her lips curling into a grin.

“Tonight?” Mike asked.

“If you want to,” El replied.

“Definitely,” Mike nodded. 

“Okay,” El smiled. “Same time as last time?”

“Yeah,” Mike agreed.

“Hey Mike! We gotta get going,” Dustin called, startling Mike and El.

“Give me another minute,” Mike called over El’s shoulder.

“You should get going. Get a couple hours of sleep,” El said quietly.

“You too. I’ll text you when I’m leaving my cabin,” Mike said, and El nodded.

Their lips connected, and Mike held her close, not wanting to have to leave her and not wanting to have to wait four more hours to do this again. But they pulled away from each other and El went inside with Suzie.

Mike and Dustin walked to the other side of the camp to their cabin, and when they entered the front door, they were surprised to see they were the last two to arrive. They had assumed Jason would lose track of time with Nikki and be late getting back.

They crossed the cabin and got ready for bed, Mike crawling into his bottom bunk and Dustin climbing up to the top. Mike did his best to tune out Jason and Eric’s conversation, but he just couldn’t help overhearing Jason brag about “banging” Nikki in the equipment shed every day.

“I’m getting close with Dani,” Eric said. “I should have her by the end of the week.”

“I can’t believe it’s taking her this long to give it up. I’d like a turn with her by the end of the summer,” Jason said.

“Like I said, end of the week. Then she’s all yours,” Eric replied.

“Maybe I’ll go after the quiet one in the meantime,” Jason contemplated.

Mike shook his head, set the alarm on his phone to vibrate at 12:30, and slipped it under his pillow. He turned onto his side and closed his eyes. This is really how those guys talk about girls? He could feel his blood boiling at what he had overheard, and Mike thought back to when Tom had stood up to Jason and Eric for this same reason. Could it really be possible that Eric was a good person at one point? Mike pushed all of them out of his head and fell asleep thinking about seeing El again in just a few short hours.

Over in the female counselors’ cabin, Nikki walked out of the bathroom in the shorts and tank top she wore to bed, and a dark hickey was visible on her collarbone.

“Is that from Jason?” Dani asked, pointing at the dark spot.

“Yep,” Nikki replied casually as she crawled into bed.

As Nikki laid back against her pillows, she caught the judgmental look in Kayla’s eyes.

“Is there a problem?” Nikki asked.

“No offense or anything, obviously I don’t really know you, but aren’t you moving a little fast with him?” Kayla asked.

“We’re both just in it for a good time, and we both know that,” Nikki explained. “I’m only seventeen. I’m not looking to fall in love anytime soon, and I’m not a bad person for having some fun.”

“I’m not necessarily looking for love either,” Dani chimed in. “But I’m starting to think Eric really likes me… Today he even told me that he would come visit me in Illinois over Labor Day weekend.”

In her own bunk where El was hearing this exchange, she felt a small pang in her stomach at the tone in Dani’s voice. There was almost a hint of desperation. El thought back to when Dani was trying to get Mike’s attention, and then she thought about how much Dani seems to enjoy any attention that Eric shows her. El was suddenly starting to feel bad for this girl.

Soon the chatter died down, and El ensured that her phone’s alarm was set for 12:30. Then, she fell asleep, excited about seeing Mike again soon.

Mike and El both woke up to the feel of their phones vibrating underneath their pillows. They each got dressed in their respective cabins, and as soon as Mike was outside of his cabin, he sent a text to El that he was on his way, and off he went.

In her cabin, El was waiting for Mike’s text near the bathroom window. She kept looking anxiously at the bathroom door, hoping none of the girls woke up and came into the bathroom and caught her. El looked at her phone again and saw that it was 12:50. Surely, Mike would have left his cabin by now. She glanced at the upper right corner and saw that she only had one bar of service. El decided that Mike had probably texted her that he had left his cabin, but because of the poor reception, she had not received it yet. So, El hopped out the bathroom window and set off toward their spot, hoping to find Mike waiting for her when she arrived.

El let the flashlight on her phone guide her through the woods until she finally reached the clearing where Mike was waiting. As soon as she stepped into the grass, Mike hurried over to her and took ahold of her hand.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming. You never answered me,” he said.

Of course, several scenarios had run through his mind when El had not responded. Everything from her sleeping through her alarm, to getting caught by one of the other female counselors, to getting caught by an advisor, to the worst scenario of all – getting lost in the woods with poor cell service.

“I never got your text,” El replied simply.

“It must not have gone through,” Mike concluded.

“But, I’m here,” El smiled, wrapping her arms around Mike’s neck.

She stood up on her tiptoes to connect her lips with Mike’s. He tightened his grip around her waist and gently rubbed his hands up and down her back while soaking in the fruity taste of her chapstick. He would never get tired of that.

They laid down on the grass, El’s head on Mike’s chest and one hand resting on his stomach. He linked his fingers with El’s that were resting on him, and he caressed her bare shoulder with his other hand.

“Do you see anything in the stars?” El asked after several minutes of silence.

Mike remained silent while he gazed over the night sky, hoping for one of the constellations to jump out at him.

“There’s Cassiopeia,” he replied, pointing up above them. “You see how those stars make kind of a lopsided W?”

“I see it,” El nodded.

“And then if you look a little below it,” Mike continued, shifting his arm to point below the constellation. “You can see Perseus.”

He felt El nod against his chest, and he returned his hand to hers, linking their fingers again.

“I remember seeing a bunch of them at the planetarium, but I’ve never had the chance to see any of them in the sky myself,” El said. “I think the only ones I’ve seen myself were the Big Dipper and Little Dipper when I was a kid.”

“Hawkins is a small town, so you can usually see a lot of the stars at night,” Mike said. “When I was a kid, my mom and dad would camp with me and my sister in the backyard some nights during the summer, and my dad always pointed out as many constellations as he could find.”

“That sounds nice. It’s good you have a close family like that,” El said, snuggling closer into his side.

“Yeah, it was nice,” Mike sighed. “But, that was, like, ten years ago. Things change.”

“What do you mean?” El asked, looking up at him with her brow furrowed.

“Just… things with my parents started going downhill as my sister and I got older… and then they had my little sister. I don’t know if she was an accident or if they thought another baby could bring their marriage back together,” Mike shrugged. “But now, they don’t even sleep in the same room. Living with my dad is like living with a stranger.”

“I’m so sorry,” El said, squeezing her arm tightly around him.

“It is what it is,” Mike shrugged.

El scooted up to place a kiss on his cheek, and Mike smiled and pulled her closer so her face was hovering over his. She leaned down to kiss him once again, parting her lips and grazing her tongue over his bottom lip. Mike opened his mouth to welcome her in, and his hands roamed down her back to where her tank top met her shorts. He slipped one hand underneath the cotton fabric and felt the soft skin of her lower back against his fingertips. Mike slid his other hand lower, overtop of her shorts, until he reached the back of her smooth leg. He softly traced circles on her skin while El tangled her fingers into his hair. El tightened her fingers around his locks, pulling slightly, while she nibbled on his bottom lip. The combination was too much for Mike, and he breathed a low moan into her mouth.

El suddenly became aware of a warming sensation building within herself, and she knew she had to back off. She loosened her grip in Mike’s hair and slid her hands down, caressing his cheekbone as she passed his face. Her kisses began to slow until she finally pulled back, planting one final peck on his lips. As she hovered over his face, she opened her eyes to see Mike opening his, his eyes nearly black from his blown pupils looking up at her. The only sounds were their breathing and the leaves rustling in the background from the light summer breeze. El gave him a small smile and another soft kiss before laying her head on his chest again and squeezing her arm around him. Mike kissed the top of her head and held her, looking up at the stars again, while El slipped in and out of consciousness, her head rising and falling with each breath Mike took.

The next morning at breakfast, Mike and El were once again trying to conceal how tired they were after staying out until 4am in their spot. Dustin and Suzie did not ask any questions, but the sly looks told Mike and El that their friends knew they had snuck out last night after not getting alone time during the day.

As they each dug in to their plates of French toast and sausage links, Eric walked through the cafeteria holding his own tray and sat down next to Dani. Dani’s face instantly lit up as Eric greeted her with a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll never understand why some girls are in to douchebags like him,” Dustin said, shaking his head, his eyes on Eric and Dani.

“Lucky for you, I was never one of those girls,” Suzie grinned, rubbing her foot against his calf under the table.

“I actually don’t think Dani is necessarily one of those girls either,” El said.

“What do you mean?” Suzie asked, furrowing her brow.

“I think she just wants guys to like her. She was trying for Mike’s attention briefly, and now she’s got Eric’s attention,” El explained. “I don’t know, I just have a feeling she wants Eric to really like her and… I mean, she’s probably a sweet girl, but… maybe low self-esteem.”

Mike thought back to the things he had heard Eric say about Dani, and he immediately lost his appetite at how disgusted he was by what Eric was doing to her. Especially since Dani didn’t even know it yet.

“Okay, but what is that about?” Suzie’s voice broke through Mike’s thoughts.

Mike, Dustin, and El looked to where Suzie was pointing and saw Jason sitting next to Kayla at another table.

“That’s new,” Dustin observed.

“Well, I heard him say last night that he was going to go after the quiet one,” Mike recalled, putting air quotes around ‘the quiet one.’

“What a pig,” Suzie said disapprovingly, shaking her head.

El thought back to the disapproval she had heard the previous night from Kayla when talking to Nikki about Jason. El smirked to herself at the thought of Kayla shutting Jason down.

While they finished eating, the conversation quickly turned to their classroom activities for the day. Dustin wondered aloud if any of his and El’s campers would back out of the dissection again today. Soon, people were starting to leave the cafeteria in preparation for the day, and Jason and Eric were walking together toward the door, having separated from Dani and Kayla.

“You said Kayla’s your partner this week?” Jason was asking Eric as they stepped into earshot. Eric nodded. “Maybe you can put in a good word for me. Quiet ones can be hard to crack.”

Mike couldn’t stop himself from scoffing and rolling his eyes at what he overheard as Jason and Eric were passing their table. Unfortunately, Jason looked right at him as he did.

“Do you have something to say?” Jason asked, stepping to the edge of the table.

Mike looked up at him, stunned for a moment. He wasn’t exactly the biggest fan of going up against a bully, but he wasn’t about to back down in front of El either.

“I just think it’s shitty how you talk about the girls here,” Mike said, echoing Tom’s previous point.

“Oh? And how do you suggest I talk about girls? Since, I’m assuming, you have so much experience on this topic,” Jason sneered.

“Maybe like they’re actual human beings who are good for more than sex,” Mike said. “I don’t get why you guys are so concerned with sex anyway. You’re at a science camp.”

“The nerds are brave at this science camp,” Jason chuckled toward Eric before turning back to Mike. “I’ll explain this to you since you probably don’t have any experience yourself, but places like this – summer camps – are perfect for hooking up. Shit, haven’t you seen Friday the 13th?”

“Have you seen Friday the 13th? Not exactly a good example,” Mike laughed.

El was unable to stifle the giggle that escaped her throat, and Jason’s narrowed eyes immediately shifted toward her. 

“It’s a shame you’ve wasted your time with these losers since day one,” Jason glared. “Like they’re your own little charity case or something. I’m sure you’re making mommy and daddy very proud.”

The smile immediately left El’s face, and her eyes flashed with anger. Mike saw her hazel eyes darken, and chills ran down his spine at the look of hatred that was plastered on El’s normally sweet face.

El stood from the table, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn’t feel her legs, and she felt as if she were floating as she appeared in front of Jason in two quick strides. Then she heard the clap of skin against skin and felt the sting in the palm of her hand. El took in a shaky breath and jabbed a trembling finger into Jason’s chest while he covered the noticeable red handprint on his cheek.

“Don’t you ever,” El jabbed his chest with her finger for emphasis as he stared at her, stunned, “ever talk about my mother again.”

El stormed by Jason, bumping his arm roughly with her shoulder as she passed, and marched out of the cafeteria. Her heart was still pounding, her blood was still boiling, and she was seeing red as she focused on just getting away from everyone. She was at the edge of the woods when she finally heard Mike’s voice calling her name from behind her.

Mike had watched the scene unfold in shock. It all happened so quickly, and El had been out the door before Mike had fully registered everything. He still wasn’t quite sure how things had escalated so much, but he knew that he needed to catch up with El and give her whatever she needed from him. So he hurried outside and called her name as she approached the woods.

“El, wait!” Mike called.

Luckily, his long legs helped him reach El, and he gently grasped her arm. When El turned to face him, Mike was shocked to see that she was still livid. Her cheeks were red, her lips were pursed, and the fire was still raging in her eyes. Mike could feel her rapid pulse in his fingertips from grasping her arm.

“El, what is it? What’s going on?” Mike asked urgently.

“That… that asshole,” El spat. “He has no right to talk about my mama. Not ever.”

Mike was alarmed to see El’s eyes begin to fill with tears. El huffed and quickly wiped her eyes, annoyed by the fact that she cries when she gets too angry.

“It’s okay,” Mike soothed her. “That guy’s a dick. He doesn’t know the first thing about you or your mom. Don’t let him get to you.”

“You don’t understand, Mike,” El said, sniffling and shaking her head. “I have spent my entire life defending my mama when shitty kids at school run their mouths. Here, nobody knows anything. Nobody knows… nobody knows about my mom or my homelife. This wasn’t supposed to come up. I wasn’t supposed to have to defend her here.”

Mike watched as more tears came and began to slide down El’s cheeks. He was so confused. Defend her mom about what? Why did kids run their mouths about El and her mother? Questions were whirling around in Mike’s head, but he did not say anything. He wrapped his arms around El and held her tightly and just let her cry into him. Mike kissed the top of her head as El clung to his t-shirt, her shoulders shaking with the ragged breaths she gasped for in between sobs. He held her until her crying subsided, and then El pulled back slightly, looking up at him with red, puffy eyes that were shining with gratitude. Mike suspected that El had been holding that cry in for a while.

“I’m sorry,” El whispered.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Mike said gently.

“You probably think I’m crazy,” El mumbled. “Crying this hard because someone made a comment about my mom.”

“I don’t think you’re crazy at all,” Mike assured her. “But I think you’ve been bottling a lot up for a long time.”

El nodded and sniffled again, wiping her cheeks dry.

“My mom is a sensitive topic for me,” she said. “She, um…”

“El, you don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” Mike said softly when he saw El’s bottom lip trembling.

“I want to tell you,” El said.

Mike nodded and waited patiently while El took a deep breath to steady her heartrate.

“My mom and my dad were never married. I guess he was really abusive… not physically, but mentally. My mom put up with it for years… him tearing her down, destroying her self-esteem, making sure she believed that she would never be good enough for anyone else… and that the only person who would ever love her and would never leave her was him,” El explained.

“That sounds horrible,” Mike said, and El nodded.

“When she found out that she was pregnant with me, the first person she told was her sister, my aunt Becky,” El continued. “My mom was scared, really scared, that my dad would be just as awful toward me… or worse, that he would use me as some sort of punishment and keep me away from her to hurt her. She knew she couldn’t raise me with him. So, she finally built up the courage to leave him.”

“I’m guessing your aunt Becky helped her?” Mike asked.

“Every step of the way,” El confirmed. “Aunt Becky let my mom move in with her, and she didn’t complain when mama couldn’t help with the bills. Mama got a job and worked all throughout her pregnancy. She was so scared of having a baby, but my aunt Becky was by her side at every doctor’s appointment, every birthing class. Aunt Becky told me that when mama finally went in to labor, she was excited because she was about to meet someone who actually would always love her and never leave her.”

She wiped her eyes again, and Mike squeezed her hand, encouraging her to take her time.

“Anyway, when she had me, she was determined to do it all on her own. My dad is a doctor, so child support from him would have saved my mom from having to work two jobs. But she wanted to protect me from ever meeting him, so she never went after a penny of his. Never even told him I existed. His name wasn’t even put on my birth certificate,” El continued before taking a deep, shaky breath. “Six months after I was born, mama was in a bad accident. She was hit one night walking to the bus stop after work.”

“Oh, God, El…” Mike whispered, squeezing her hand again.

“Permanent brain damage. She can’t walk or talk or take care of herself,” El said. “I’m sixteen, and I’ve never heard my mama’s voice. She sits in her wheelchair, and her nurse and my aunt Becky take care of her.”

Mike’s mind flashed back to the first day when he saw El getting out of that van. The woman she hugged goodbye outside must have been her aunt Becky. Her mom must have been the woman seated in the van who El hugged afterward.

“She sacrificed so much for me, and so has my aunt Becky. They’re the two most incredible women in the world, but it’s still hard,” El continued. “You know how kids are. I never thought being raised by my aunt was weird until kids at school started making fun of me for not having normal parents. And when they found out my mom was disabled… I can’t tell you how many jokes I’ve heard about my mom being a vegetable.”

“People are awful,” Mike said.

“They are,” El agreed. “And I know, as much of a jerk as Jason is, he doesn’t know anything about my mom, so he didn’t know it would be such a big deal to me… But I can’t help getting defensive about her.”

“I don’t blame you,” Mike said. “She sounds like an amazing woman who did everything she could to give you the life she knew you deserved. And I’m sure that she is proud of you.”

“I hope so. I try to make her proud… her and my aunt Becky,” El said.

“I’m sure they’re both so proud of you and that they both love you very much,” Mike said.

“Thanks, Mike,” El smiled.

“You don’t need to thank me. It’s the truth,” Mike said, pulling her closer to him and planting a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you for listening and just letting me cry and let everything out,” El said.

“Thank you for sharing that with me,” Mike said. “I love that you feel comfortable enough to tell me about something so personal.”

“I told you, I feel like I can talk to you about anything,” El reminded him.

Mike smiled fondly at the memory and leaned down to lightly kiss El’s lips. She returned the kiss softly, feeling as though a whole new level of intimacy had been reached. It was one she had not planned, but one that she was thankful happened.


	8. Chapter 8

The rest of week one of camp passed without further incident for El, Mike, Dustin, and Suzie. Dustin did essentially become one student’s lab partner for the dissection each day, as the girl who had panicked over dissecting the starfish did not have any better luck with the remaining animals, either. Mike and Suzie’s students did not give them much trouble, and by the time Friday rolled around, Mike found he was actually excited to see the final results of his campers’ projects.

During Friday’s break between lessons two and three, when the students were in phys ed and lunch, Mike and Suzie met up with Dustin and El for lunch. They had enjoyed lunch each day because they had lunch while Jason and Nikki were facilitating phys ed, so they did not have to risk any altercations with Jason. Although, ever since El had slapped him across the face and told him off, Jason had kept his distance from them.

“I can’t believe our first group of campers is leaving tomorrow morning,” Suzie said.

“I know. The week flew by,” Mike agreed.

“Hopefully next week, I won’t have to take part in the dissection every day,” Dustin said.

“But Dusty-Bun, I thought you would love helping the students,” Suzie furrowed her brow.

“I do. But I’m supposed to be leading them, not doing the assignment while El leads the way on her own,” Dustin explained before quickly turning toward El. “Not that you don’t do a great job, because you do.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” El chuckled. “I’m really glad we got to work together this week.”

“I bet you’re even more excited for who you get to work with next week,” Dustin teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Of course I’m excited,” El smiled, and her cheekbones blushed a light shade of pink as she glanced at Mike.

“Me too,” Mike smiled back at her.

“I bet you are,” Dustin smirked, and Mike rolled his eyes but could not help the grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

Of course he was excited to work with El next week. He loved any amount of time that he got to spend with her. After El had opened up to him about her mom, Mike felt that the two of them had reached a whole new level of depth in their relationship. He felt like he already had a stronger connection with El than he did in the whole first year of dating Stephanie. El always seemed to know what to say, he was able to open up to her about his family, and she liked him for him even with his nerdy interests that Stephanie ultimately could not accept. The physical stuff was just a bonus, but it was a bonus that Mike was thankful for. He could barely keep his hands off her, and he would kiss her forever if he could. 

Next to him, El was thinking nearly the same thing. Mike was the only person at camp who knew about her mom, and if it had been anybody else, El knew there was no way she would have opened up about something so personal so quickly. But, there was something about Mike that El had felt from the very beginning that made it so easy to trust him. 

When they finished eating lunch, Mike and El walked back toward El and Dustin’s classroom to hang out until it was nearing the end of break. Mike sat on the ground, his back against the trunk of a tree, and pulled El into his lap. El reached up and absentmindedly stroked her fingers through locks of Mike’s hair while he nuzzled contentedly against her neck.

“You know, I am really excited about next week,” El said casually.

“So am I. It will be fun,” Mike agreed.

“Mhm,” El agreed and then paused before a smirk crossed her lips. “But I’m more excited about tomorrow night.”

Mike’s cheeks heated up instantly at El’s tone and smirk, knowing that they were sneaking out after curfew tomorrow night.

“You are?” he asked.

“Of course,” El replied. “I love the time we get to spend together, just the two of us.”

“Me too,” Mike agreed, and he kissed her temple as she laid her head against his shoulder.

The two of them snuggled and silently enjoyed each other’s presence until about fifteen minutes before the end of break and the start of the third lesson. As a few of the more eager children started to appear at El’s classroom, she stood from Mike’s lap and pulled him up to his feet.

“Have a good rest of your day,” Mike said, planting a kiss on El’s forehead. “I’ll see you afterward.”

El stood up on her tiptoes and gave Mike a quick peck on the lips.

“Bye,” she smiled.

Mike made his way back through the paths in the woods toward his own classroom. He greeted Dustin in passing who was on his way back to he and El’s classroom from spending the rest of break with Suzie. 

The final two lessons went smoothly. Mike and Suzie were both impressed by the arctic terrarium that one of their students created. The students enjoyed looking at each other’s work and comparing their terrariums and sugar crystals. As the day drew to an end, Mike was surprised to feel a sense of sadness that they would be saying goodbye to their first group of students.

“Miss Suzie, do we get to take our crystals home?” one young boy asked.

“You sure do!” Suzie replied excitedly. “You get to take your crystals, your terrariums, and your balloon-powered cars.”

“I need to adjust my car when I get home. It moved too slow in the race today,” said another boy, referencing the race Mike and Suzie had refereed during the first lesson of the day.

“I bet you can figure out how to make it run twice as fast,” Suzie encouraged him.

“You do?!” the boy perked up.

“I sure do,” Suzie smiled. “And then after you fix your car, you can eat your sugar crystals to reward yourself.”

Mike smiled at how good Suzie was with the kids. He imagined El being just as energetic with them next week, and he hoped everything would go just as smoothly with the next group of campers.

As four o’clock rolled around, the campers all gathered their belongings and waited for Mike and Suzie to dismiss them. Suzie made a point to tell the campers how well they did, and she thanked them on behalf of herself and Mike. Mike agreed and told the kids goodbye as well. Then, the kids were off to their cabins to start packing their belongings before dinner.

“Well, week one is done,” Dustin said an hour later over dinner.

“Don’t laugh, but I actually felt sad ending the lesson today,” Suzie admitted.

While they switched the topic to what they planned on doing the next day, El noticed Jason enter the cafeteria and walk across the room, not looking in their direction. Jason walked straight to the table where Kayla was sitting across from Tom, and he took a seat right beside her. El chuckled as she saw Kayla noticeably scoot several inches away from Jason.

“He doesn’t know when to quit, does he?” Suzie observed what El was watching.

“Guys like him never do,” El agreed.

El saw Nikki who was sitting at another table with Dani and Eric. Nikki looked irritated, and El was sure that she saw Nikki glare Kayla and Jason’s way more than once. When Kayla stood up to leave, Jason walked with her to the trash can to dispose of their trays, and he placed his hand on the small of her back. Kayla immediately stepped away from him and said something that El could not hear. When El looked back at Nikki, Nikki was watching Kayla and Jason leave with pursed lips.

That night, El had just changed into pajamas, plugged her phone in to charge, and was laying down in her bed when Nikki entered the cabin, letting the door slam behind her. El looked up to see Nikki looking at Kayla with fire in her eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Nikki demanded, pointing one finger at Kayla and resting her other hand on her hip.

“What are you talking about?” Kayla asked.

“You know what I’m talking about. You were just giving me shit the other day about moving too fast with Jason. You’re such a hypocrite,” Nikki spat.

“How am I a hypocrite?” Kayla asked, standing from her bed to face Nikki.

“Please. I’ve seen you with him how many times this week?” Nikki exclaimed.

“None of that was my choice,” Kayla said.

“Sure. It doesn’t look like you try too hard to stop it,” Nikki argued. “I don’t know who you think you are judging me and then trying to hook up with the same guy you were giving me shit about.”

“I’m not trying to hook up with anybody,” Kayla insisted, clearly becoming annoyed. “But even if I were trying to hook up with Jason, why would you care so much? Didn’t you say you were just in it for fun?”

“Well it’s not exactly fun for me if he’s spending all his time with you, now, is it?” Nikki said sarcastically.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Nikki,” Kayla shrugged exasperatedly. “You can have him. I don’t want him. In fact, I want him to leave me alone.”

“Sure you do,” Nikki scoffed. “You’d probably die for this attention back home.”

“Nikki, come on, that’s enough,” Dani interjected, moving herself in between Nikki and Kayla.

“You better keep an eye on Eric, too, if you don’t want this one moving in on him,” Nikki said with a disgusted look toward Kayla. “It’s always the quiet ones.”

Kayla rolled her eyes, and Dani stayed between the two of them as Nikki climbed into her bed and Kayla laid back down in hers. When the situation was defused, Dani climbed back into her bed as well for the night.

In her own bottom bunk where El had watched the scene unfold, she quickly unlocked her phone and sent a text to Mike.

Holy shit… I thought Nikki was just about to kick Kayla’s ass over Jason.

What?! Why?! Mike replied almost immediately.

Nikki’s pretty pissed that Jason has been spending so much time with Kayla. El replied.

Oh wow… Out of everything they could fight over, they choose this douchebag. Mike sent back with the eyeroll emjoi, and El giggled to herself.

I wonder if Nikki knows you slapped the shit out of him the other day. Mike added before El had a chance to respond to his previous text.

Lol it wasn’t that impressive. El texted back.

Are you kidding me?! It was badass. Mike insisted, and El smiled to herself.

Well thanks. she replied with a smiley emoji.

You’re welcome. Mike answered simply with the same smiley emoji.

El was grinning from ear to ear as she lay in bed texting Mike. She was about to tell him good night, when she saw the three dots indicating that he was typing.

I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. El felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach as she read the simple words Mike had sent.

Me neither. she replied with another smiley emoji.

We should get some sleep now though since it’ll be a long night tomorrow. El sent with a winking smiley face without waiting for another response from Mike.

Haha, okay. Good night El. Sweet dreams. Mike’s response came quickly.

Good night. El replied with a smiley face blowing a heart kiss.

She sighed and tucked her charging phone underneath her pillow. El closed her eyes and fell asleep with butterflies still fluttering and a smile still on her face.

The next day passed as another typical Saturday. Mike, El, Dustin, and Suzie met up for breakfast, and then the four of them did their laundry together and played Scrabble while their clothes were washing. Mike and El were able to sneak a few minutes to themselves after returning their laundry to their cabins, as Suzie went to the admin building to use the payphone to call her parents back home in Utah, and Dustin waited with her. They agreed to meet at the lake when Suzie finished her phone call, so Mike and El went on ahead, knowing Dustin and Suzie would catch up with them soon.

When Dustin and Suzie joined them at the lake, the four of them spent the afternoon swimming. By the time they left the water, El’s tan shoulders had a fresh sunkissed glow, while Mike, Dustin, and Suzie’s skin were all turned slightly pink. They moved their things to a picnic table next to the volleyball net, and they played two games of volleyball.

Mike couldn’t help being distracted by El who had pulled on her shorts over her bikini bottoms but was still wearing only her bikini top.

“You okay, there, buddy?” Dustin smirked when the volleyball landed in the sand just a foot away from where Mike stood.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. You know I suck at sports,” Mike blushed, knowing by the look on Dustin’s face that he knew why Mike was distracted.

“Uh huh,” Dustin teased. “Just try to keep your eyes inside your head.”

Dustin and Suzie ended up winning both games, which was no surprise to any of them, as Suzie was still the only one of them who was good at the sport.

“You would think you guys would be getting better at volleyball by now,” Suzie laughed as the four of them made their way to the cafeteria for dinner.

“I like to think I’m getting better, but I have no excuse for these two,” El joked along.

“Well, it could be that watching our girlfriends jump around in swimsuits and short shorts is more appealing than actually learning the game,” Dustin quipped.

“Dude, don’t make it sound creepy,” Mike swatted his friend’s arm, and Dustin shrugged.

El glanced at Mike out of the corner of her eye, noticing that nobody picked up on the fact that Dustin just referred to her as Mike’s girlfriend. Did Dustin and Suzie assume that they were officially dating? Suzie had referred to them as a couple just earlier in the week… El smiled at the thought of being able to call Mike her boyfriend. The butterflies came back at the thought.

The four of them had dinner together and then hung out until it was nearly curfew. Mike and Dustin walked El and Suzie back to the girls’ cabin, and each couple began saying their good nights.

“Same time?” Mike murmured against El’s ear while her arms were wrapped around his neck in a hug.

“Yep,” El smiled.

Mike leaned down to kiss her lips before they told each other good night and Mike started into the woods with Dustin. 

“So, things are heating up with you two, huh?” Dustin asked while they walked toward their own cabin.

“I guess you could say that. I feel like I’m getting really close to her, and I just want to spend all my time with her,” Mike replied, automatically grinning at the thought of El. “I’m meeting up with her again in a few hours.”

“See? And two weeks ago you thought I was crazy,” Dustin chuckled. “Just be safe.”

“Dude, it’s only been two weeks. We’re not doing that yet,” Mike said, raising his eyebrows.

“Um… I meant be safe walking through the woods in the middle of the night, but yeah. Thanks for the update,” Dustin said with a smirk.

“Oh, um, sorry… And yeah, thanks, I’ll be careful,” Mike muttered, looking away as Dustin started laughing.

“So, you haven’t, you know, gotten very far then?” Dustin asked after a moment.

“Dustin!” Mike scolded.

“Hey, I’m not trying to be an ass, but since you brought it up,” Dustin said, raising his hands in defense. “I think it’s great that you guys are taking the time to get to know each other instead of just giving in to the obvious attraction and, you know, consummating.”

“Why do you have to make it weird?” Mike asked and laughed at the smirk on Dustin’s face. “El and I haven’t even talked about sex. I don’t know what she would think about going any further than making out. And honestly, I love things the way they are. Trying to have sex with her has been the furthest thing from my mind… Okay, well maybe not the furthest thing from my mind-”

Dustin started laughing, interrupting Mike’s thought process.

“I’m just saying,” Mike continued firmly. “I really care about her as a person, and I don’t want to ruin anything by crossing any lines with her.”

“No, no, I get that,” Dustin said, calming down as the laughter subsided. “I say this as an outsider looking in, but I don’t think sex is exactly the furthest thing from her mind either.”

“Why do you say that?” Mike asked.

“Suzie and I talk about this all the time – not you and El having sex – but just the way you guys are when you’re together,” Dustin explained. “She looks at you like you’re the only person in the world. I can’t tell you how many times she brought your name up this past week in the classroom. And don’t act like you don’t see signals from her. She openly flirts with you all the time, and she obviously knows you check her out whenever you can… why do you think she didn’t put a shirt on over her bikini top when we got done swimming?”

“I guess you do have some good points,” Mike said, thinking over what Dustin was saying.

“I know you’re not exactly the most forward person when it comes to girls, but you know without a doubt that El really likes you and that you guys have a strong connection,” Dustin said.

“That’s true,” Mike agreed. “And she does keep saying how excited she is to see me tonight and how much she loves spending time together.”

“She has been as forward as she can be, and now it’s your turn to make a move. Take it slowly, and El’s a smart girl, she will let you know her boundaries,” Dustin encouraged him.

Mike nodded, as they had reached their cabin and he did not want the other guys to hear them talking about this. They went inside, and Mike got ready for bed, making sure to set his alarm for 12:30am like usual.

In the female counselors’ cabin, El was already laying in bed scrolling through her Twitter feed on her phone. Dani and Nikki were in the bathroom at two of the sinks doing their nightly skincare routines, and the open door was close enough to El’s bed that she could hear everything they were saying.

“What’s with you tonight? You haven’t stopped smiling since you walked in the door,” Nikki asked.

“Well,” Dani said, and El could hear the excitement in her voice. “Eric and I had sex today.”

In her bed, El closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew it was none of her business, but she just had a bad feeling that this was not going to end well for Dani.

“It was amazing,” Dani was saying. “He was telling me how much he liked me and how beautiful I was, and-”

“It wasn’t your first time, was it?” Nikki interrupted.

“With Eric?” Dani asked, and El could hear that she was upset that Nikki didn’t join in on her happiness.

“No, in general,” Nikki clarified.

“N-no, why?” Dani asked, noticeably confused.

“Good,” Nikki replied simply.

A moment later, Nikki left the bathroom, walked past El, and climbed into her bed. Then Dani, looking confused, followed suit. El couldn’t help but think that Nikki thought similarly about what the outcome would be between Dani and Eric.

El set the alarm on her phone for 12:30am, plugged it in to charge, and tucked it under her pillow. She closed her eyes and let herself drift off for a couple hours of sleep.

It was just before one o’clock in the morning when Mike and El met each other in their usual spot in the woods. They were leaning back in the grass, looking up at the stars. El was twirling a wildflower around in her fingers like she did the first time they were there. 

“It’s so nice out here,” El sighed, laying down all the way.

“Yeah, it is,” Mike agreed, laying down next to her and turning onto his side to face her.

He leaned in to kiss her and felt El smile against his lips. Mike pulled back, his face still hovering over hers as he looked into her hazel eyes. He reached down and gently took the wildflower from her fingers and tucked it into her hair, right above her ear.

“You’re just so beautiful,” he whispered.

El smiled and pulled him down to her, connecting their lips once again. Mike seemed to hesitate for just a moment, but then he shifted himself so that he was on top of El, taking her by surprise. She opened her eyes slightly as Mike’s kisses began trailing from her lips to the side of her neck. El wrapped her arms around him, letting her fingernails graze his back through his t-shirt.

Mike felt chills down his spine at the sensation of El’s nails on his back, even through the fabric of his shirt. He kissed lower, sucking on the soft skin above her collarbone. One hand was tangled in El’s soft, wavy hair, while the other was gently tracing the curve from the side of her breast to her hip. Mike moved his lips from her collarbone to the other side of her neck, and El sighed against his ear.

“Does that feel good?” Mike murmured against her neck.

“Yeah,” El whimpered, the vulnerable tone in her voice making all of Mike’s blood run south.

He pulled one of El’s legs up around his hip, and he moved his hand down to grip her ass. El gasped sharply, and Mike covered her open mouth with his own, meeting her tongue with his and giving her ass another squeeze. His other hand released her hair and gently moved down to her chest. El moaned into his mouth as Mike cupped her breast in his palm over top of her shirt. Mike moaned in return and shifted his hips against her pelvis, lost in how amazing her body felt. 

El felt his hands move again, and Mike pushed her tank top up her stomach above her bellybutton. Then his fingers were working to unfasten her shorts. El’s eyes opened completely as she came back to her senses.

“Mike,” she said clearly.

“Yeah, babe,” Mike breathed against her neck.

“Mike, wait. Stop,” El said.

His hands stopped moving, and he lifted his face from El’s neck to look into her eyes. She saw shock and guilt suddenly cross his face as Mike pushed himself off of her.

“Shit, El, I’m sorry,” he said immediately. “I just thought – it doesn’t matter – I’m such an idiot. I’m so sorry.”

“You’re not an idiot,” El said, sitting up and adjusting her tank top.

“Yes I am. I can’t believe I did that. God, El, I’m so sorry. Please don’t hate me,” Mike continued rambling until El took one of his hands in hers.

“Mike, I don’t hate you. I’m not mad,” she said sincerely, looking into his eyes. “I-it was… good. It was all really good… It’s just… I’m not, you know, ready.”

“No, I totally understand. I got carried away. We’ve only known each other for two weeks, of course it’s too soon,” Mike said.

“It’s not just that…” El trailed off. She let out a sigh before continuing. “Look, I’m… still a virgin.”

Mike’s eyes widened, and El’s gaze dropped to the ground as she looked away.

“El, that’s nothing to be ashamed about,” he said quickly.

“No, I know it’s not, but… it’s just that you should know that I’m waiting… not necessarily until marriage, but definitely until… I don’t know, love? Until it feels right?” El sighed again. “Look, if this changes anything between us, or if you don’t want to be with me anymore-”

“Wait, what?” Mike interjected. “That’s not it at all.”

“Really?” El asked, looking at him with her big doe eyes.

“Of course I still want to be with you,” Mike smiled. “El, I don’t want to pressure you into anything, ever. That’s not who I am. And I know I should’ve talked to you about it before just going for it… I got carried away. I’m sorry.”

“You can stop apologizing,” El smiled. “And thank you for understanding… Not all guys do.”

“What do you mean?” Mike asked, his brow furrowing.

“You know how I told you things didn’t end well with my last boyfriend, Aaron?” El began, and Mike nodded. “We dated for a pretty long time… almost ten months, and we had been friends since middle school. So, we really knew each other well, and I really thought we loved each other. We had done some stuff, you know, but we never actually had sex. He wanted to, but I just wasn’t ready.”

“He didn’t try to force you into it or anything, did he?” Mike asked.

“No, nothing like that. Every time he tried to go further than I was comfortable with, I stopped him,” El replied. “But he would always ask me why we weren’t having sex, and all I could do was be honest and tell him I wasn’t ready. We finally got into a huge fight because he asked me if I would ever be ready, and I told him that I needed to know it was love, and it just needed to feel right… I couldn’t explain it any better than that.”

“And he didn’t like that answer,” Mike inferred, and El shook her head.

“Not at all. He interpreted it as me not loving him. He completely blew up, said we’d been together almost a year, he had been patient long enough, if I didn’t love him enough to go all the way then I needed to stop wasting his time,” El recalled. “Obviously, we broke up that day. Then he told everyone that I never loved him. That I was stringing him along and using him, and that he really loved me and I just wasted almost a year of his life. He called me a tease, he called me fake. He really ruined my reputation.”

“Wow. What an asshole. I’m sorry,” Mike said.

“It’s okay,” El shrugged. “It just made me worry that any guy I was with would think that I wasn’t serious about him if I wasn’t ready to have sex when he wanted to. I know having sex for the first time isn’t a big deal to everybody, but it’s a big deal to me.”

“It is a big deal,” Mike agreed. “And I know I can’t speak for all guys, but as long as you’re with me, I want you to know I would never pressure you into anything. We can wait as long as you need to, and it won’t change the way I feel about you.”

“Really?” El asked, her eyes softening.

“Really. I know it’s a big deal, and you should feel absolutely ready,” Mike said. “I mean, if I would’ve known what was going to happen after my first time, I would’ve waited longer too.”

“Was it Stephanie?” El asked gently, and Mike nodded.

“Yeah, she’s the only girl that I’ve been with. We started dating young, like fourteen, so we didn’t have sex until about six months ago,” Mike said. “We were each other’s firsts, and I mean, we were together for two years. Two years when you’re sixteen feels like you’ll be together forever.”

“Did you love her?” El asked.

“Yeah, I really thought that I did,” Mike replied. “After she made the cheerleading squad and started making friends with all these popular kids, things started to change. I could tell that things just weren’t the same anymore. She finally ended things with me. She told me we were just too different, that now that she was popular she couldn’t be seen dating someone like me… I mean, I always knew she was out of my league, but… Anyway, come to find out she had already been seeing this douchebag Troy for almost a month before she dumped me.”

“Are you serious?” El asked, her eyes widening.

“Yeah,” Mike nodded.

“Wow. What a bitch,” El said.

“That’s what everyone said when I told them,” Mike chuckled.

“Well it’s true,” El said. “And I don’t know this girl, but it sounds like you’re the one that was out of her league, not the other way around.”

“Thanks, El,” Mike said, but El could hear in his tone that he didn’t feel the same way.

“I’m serious. Besides, you’re better off without her,” El said with a small smile.

“That’s definitely true,” Mike agreed. “So… are you and I okay?”

“Yeah, we’re okay,” El smiled.

She nestled into Mike’s side, and the two of them laid back onto the grass. Then, something popped into El’s head and she turned to face Mike, propping herself up on one elbow.

“Also, babe? Where did that come from?” El teased, repeating what Mike had called her just before she asked him to stop.

“Oh, uh…” Mike’s cheeks blushed red as he looked away from El. “I told you, I just got carried away.”

“It’s okay,” El giggled. “I kind of like it.”

“You do?” Mike asked, raising his eyebrows, and El nodded.

She laid her head down on Mike’s chest, and Mike set an alarm on his phone to wake them up in a couple hours before they both dozed off together under the stars.


	9. Chapter 9

The second group of campers arrived Sunday, and Monday morning Mike and El walked together to the classroom they would be sharing for the week. Mike hoped that this week would take its time and pass slowly, but he knew in reality it would fly by. Time had a way of both standing still and getting away from him when he was able to spend it with El, and since this week was the week they would get to be together the most, he wanted to savor every moment. 

El welcomed the new campers and introduced herself and Mike. She told the campers how excited they were to be working with them for the week and gave a brief rundown of what they would be covering.

“It should be a lot of fun, and at the end of the week, you all will have some really cool projects to take home with you,” El concluded. “Does anyone have any questions before we get started?”

A young girl’s hand raised into the air, and El nodded in her direction.

“Your name is Miss El? Like the letter L?” the girl asked, and El heard Mike chuckle beside her.

“You say it just like the letter L, but it is actually just a nickname that I go by,” El explained.

“What’s your real name?” the girl asked.

“My real name is Jane,” El replied, and Mike scrunched his forehead in surprise.

“How is El short for Jane?” the girl continued.

“It isn’t. My middle name is Eleanor, which is where El comes from,” El said.

“Oh, okay. Kind of like my Aunt Tina whose name is really Christina,” the girl concluded.

“Just like that,” El smiled. “Now, any other questions before we get started?”

The silence from the campers indicated that they were ready to move on to the first lesson. El passed out the materials while Mike prepared the presentation about the two simple machines that were the focus of the first day: the lever and the wheel and axle. El turned off the lights when Mike had the PowerPoint ready, and then he dove into the presentation that the camp had provided them with.

El watched in admiration as Mike explained the material and answered all the questions the campers asked. She knew Mike had probably known all about simple machines for years, but he had a way of making it seem fresh and exciting for the kids. 

When the physics hour was over, Mike announced that next was biology and that today they would be dissecting the simplest animal, an earthworm. Most of the boys in the class and some of the girls in the class were excited, and the rest of the campers gave no reaction. Mike and El were both happy to see that none of them refused to participate yet. The two of them made sure that each pair of students had an earthworm, the academic material, and the proper safety equipment for the dissection. Then, Mike led the dissection by cutting into his own earthworm at the front of the class while El walked around from table to table observing and ensuring that the students were doing it correctly and answering any questions that they asked her.

“This is easy,” said one girl as El walked by her table. “Are we going to dissect anything cooler?”

“You like biology?” El asked, and the girl nodded. “Then I really think you’ll like what you get to dissect the rest of the week.”

“Like what?” the girl asked.

“Well, tomorrow you’ll dissect a starfish,” El replied, and the girl perked up in excitement. “And they only get better from there.”

The girl seemed satisfied with El’s answer, so El continued on. 

“Make sure whoever isn’t doing the cutting is following along and answering the questions on your worksheet,” Mike reminded them when he looked out and saw a couple untouched worksheets on some of the tables. “Now, once you’re finished, place all your tools over in the sanitizing tub, put your goggles on the counter, and throw your gloves away and wash your hands.”

El joined Mike back at the front of the classroom while the campers were finishing up with their lesson. Mike cleaned up his area and washed his hands, and then the two of them waited for the students to return to their seats.

“What do you all think so far?” El asked when all ten campers were seated again.

“Cutting the worm was better than the PowerPoint,” one boy immediately responded, and several students nodded.

“Miss El told me that tomorrow we get to dissect a starfish,” announced the girl that El had spoken to earlier during the dissection.

“That’s right,” Mike nodded. “And, I’m sorry, but there’s another PowerPoint, too.”

Mike and El both chuckled at the groans from the students. El glanced at the clock on the wall and noticed that it was noon and time to dismiss the campers.

“You all remember where the cafeteria and phys ed are?” she asked, and the campers nodded. “Okay, then go ahead, and we’ll see you all back here in two hours.”

The kids left the classroom, and El wrapped her arms around Mike’s waist and stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips. He leaned down and deepened the kiss, taking El by surprise when he started peppering kisses along her jawline.

“Mike, we’re supposed to meet Dustin and Suzie for lunch,” El said, but she did not stop him.

“So what if we’re a little late,” Mike smirked.

He walked El backward a couple steps until her hips collided with one of the tables, and she hopped up so she was sitting on the edge of it. She wrapped her arms around Mike’s neck, pulling him closer and meeting his soft lips with hers again.

“See? Isn’t this a better way to spend our time than lunch?” Mike said jokingly when their kiss broke.

As if on cue, El’s stomach growled loudly between them, and they both laughed as El’s cheeks blushed red. She made no move to stand up, though, and kept her arms wrapped loosely around Mike’s neck, playing with the ends of his hair.

“I’m so glad we get to work together all week,” she said, and Mike nodded his agreement. “I liked watching you teach them. You’re really good with them.”

“Thanks. I’m looking forward to your turn after break,” Mike said, referencing their agreement that he would lead the first two lessons and El would lead the last two lessons after lunch. “You’re really good with them, too… Jane.”

El’s eyes widened, and she laughed at the teasing grin on Mike’s lips.

“Don’t call me that,” she said, swatting his arm playfully.

“Jane Eleanor Ives, huh? I wasn’t expecting that,” Mike said.

“What, you thought my name was just El? Like the letter?” El asked, mimicking the young girl’s question from earlier.

“I don’t know. I mean, I thought maybe it was like that Reese Witherspoon character… like Elle Woods or something,” Mike said, and El’s eyes doubled in size. Mike blushed when he realized what he said. “Well shit.”

“You’ve seen Legally Blonde?” El exclaimed.

“I have two sisters,” Mike insisted.

“Does that mean you’d watch chick flicks with me?” El asked, trying to keep herself from laughing at how red Mike’s cheeks had gotten.

“You know what, let’s go to lunch,” Mike said and started to pull back from El.

“Aww, I’m just teasing you,” El said, pulling him closer to her again. “Your secret is safe with me. I won’t tell anyone you’re a big Legally Blonde fan.”

Mike rolled his eyes and chuckled before diving into the crook of El’s neck, holding her tightly against him while he nipped at her skin. El squealed in surprise and giggled as the sensation shot chills through her whole body. She sighed contentedly when Mike moved from her neck and began kissing her lips again.

El slowly leaned back until she was laying on the table with Mike leaning over her. Her hands were in his hair, and after a moment, she felt him smile against her lips.

“What?” she asked just above a whisper.

“I just never really imagined I’d be making out with a hot girl on a lab table in a science classroom,” Mike said.

El chuckled and rolled her eyes before pulling his lips back to hers.

In the cafeteria, Dustin and Suzie were sitting at a table eating their lunch. The other tables around them were filled with the half of the campers who were not in their phys ed hour. Dani and Eric were sitting together at another table.

“I’m kind of surprised they’re still spending time together,” Suzie said, looking in Dani and Eric’s direction. Suzie had overheard the same conversation between Dani and Nikki that El had heard a few days earlier, and of course Suzie had told Dustin as well. “Maybe he does actually like her and wasn’t just trying to get sex from her?”

“Or maybe he doesn’t want to end things with her and then have to deal with the aftermath all week since they have to work together this week,” Dustin pointed out. “So he’s probably using this week to get all the sex from her that he wants before dropping her at the end of the week.”

“That’s awful,” Suzie said disapprovingly.

“Yeah, well, he’s awful. I don’t care if Tom remembers him as a nice kid,” Dustin said. “He and Jason are both pigs. Oh, which reminds me. You know how I’m working with Kayla this week?”

“Yes,” Suzie nodded.

“Apparently Jason won’t leave her alone. He’s been trying to get with her for almost a whole week now, and he won’t take the hint that she’s not interested,” Dustin said. “She was telling me about it on the walk to the cafeteria.”

“Why don’t you invite her to sit with us at dinner?” Suzie suggested. “Jason hasn’t come back to our table since El embarrassed him. I’m sure Kayla would be safe with us.”

“That’s a great idea, Suzie-Poo,” Dustin said and gave her a peck on the lips. “I’ll ask her when we get back to the classroom.”

Moments later, Dustin and Suzie looked up to see Mike and El finally entering the cafeteria. The two of them got food and joined their friends at their table.

“Nice of you to join us. What took you two so long?” Dustin asked, smirking because the swelling on both Mike and El’s lips had not gone completely away.

“Cleaning up after the dissection and getting things ready for lesson three,” El shrugged nonchalantly.

“Uh huh,” Dustin grinned. “You look a little flushed there, El. Maybe you should drink some water.”

El blushed and Suzie kicked Dustin’s shin underneath the table, causing him to jump.

“Anyway, we were just talking about inviting Kayla to sit with us during dinner. Probably breakfast, too, come to think of it,” Suzie filled in Mike and El. “Jason has been giving her problems-”

“And since now he’s scared of El,” Dustin interjected.

“He is not scared of me,” El said. “But yes, that’s a good idea.”

“Great, then it’s settled,” Suzie smiled.

The four of them finished their lunch and hung out talking at their table for the rest of their break before walking back to their respective classrooms. 

In their classroom, Mike handed out the material for lesson three while El prepared the PowerPoint presentation. She led the lesson on the first three biomes: aquatic, desert, and forest, spending about fifteen minutes discussing each one. Mike was so caught up in watching her interact with the kids and listening to her voice that El had to say his name twice to bring him back to reality to turn the lights back on at the end of the presentation.

At the start of the fourth and final lesson, El explained to the campers that they would be growing their own crystals, much to their excitement. The informative material was passed around, and Mike and El made sure each camper had the proper ingredients. Then, El led the demonstration, taking time to allow the campers to follow her lead, while Mike observed to ensure the campers were all keeping up.

Helping the campers create the mixture for their crystals took nearly twice as long as it took the counselors during training week, and Mike and El paid particularly close attention to each camper when it came time to boil the solution. Soon, the campers were pouring their mixtures into their jars and adding their desired amounts of food coloring and glitter. When they were finished, the campers placed their jars on a shelf along the side of the classroom.

“What did you all think of your first day?” El asked excitedly when everyone had cleaned up their stations.

“I can’t wait to see how big my crystals get,” one girl responded.

“Me too! That was my favorite part,” another agreed.

“But I did not like dissecting. That worm was gross,” said another.

“PowerPoints are boring,” chimed in one boy.

“Well, when the PowerPoints are over, you’ll get to build a little car and race them at the end of the week,” Mike explained, and the kids murmured excitement.

“Any other questions before you leave for the day?” El asked, and one girl’s hand raised into the air.

“Is he your boyfriend?” the girl asked, pointing at Mike.

El was taken aback and looked briefly at Mike whose eyes had widened and then back at the girl who had asked the question.

“Why do you ask?” El asked.

“He keeps looking at you funny, and if he’s not your boyfriend, then that’s weird,” the girl explained.

Next to El, Mike let out a nervous laugh, and El turned to see his cheeks blushing a deep red.

“Does anyone have any more questions about what you learned in class today?” he asked, and the kids looked around silently at each other. “Then you’re all free to go. We’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

After the campers left, El turned to face Mike with a teasing smile on her face.

“Are you embarrassed that you were busted by a ten-year-old girl?” she asked.

“No,” Mike replied in mock indignance.

“Then why are you blushing so hard?” El teased.

“Because…” Mike trailed off and looked down.

“Because why?” El asked, dropping the teasing tone and furrowing her brow, concerned something might actually be bothering him.

Mike let out a heavy sigh before answering.

“Because there was one of those words again… boyfriend…” he said. “You can’t act like you didn’t notice Dustin refer to you and Suzie as our girlfriends the other day, or Suzie refer to you and me as a couple last week.”

“Oh I noticed,” El said. “I wasn’t sure if you did.”

“Of course I did,” Mike chuckled. “I’ve definitely noticed how everyone has been calling you my girlfriend before I’ve even called you my girlfriend.”

“Well… do you want to call me your girlfriend?” El asked, a rare timidity entering her voice.

It was as if they were both holding their breath waiting on Mike to answer. He looked into her hazel eyes and smiled.

“Of course I do,” he said. “I just didn’t know if it would be too soon.”

“We’re practically dating already anyway,” El pointed out, not being able to contain the smile spreading over her face.

“Is that what we’ve been doing?” Mike teased, stepping closer to her.

“That’s what I would call spending every minute that we can together, breaking curfew to see each other, and, you know, making out all the time,” El grinned. “Plus, I do really like you.”

“I really like you, too,” Mike replied. “So… I guess we’re making it official, then?”

“I guess we are,” El smiled.

“Cool,” Mike said, the corners of his mouth tugging into a smile as well.

“Cool,” El repeated. Then she cupped one side of his face and leaned up to kiss her boyfriend, feeling the butterflies going crazy in her stomach.

That evening, Dustin invited Kayla to eat dinner with himself, Suzie, Mike, and El. The five of them gathered around the table, and they all noticed when Jason walked into the cafeteria with Eric and Dani. Jason spotted Kayla almost immediately, and they saw the surprise and annoyance that quickly covered his face. He continued across the room with Eric and Dani and ended up sitting next to Nikki.

“Worked like a charm,” Dustin grinned. “Told you, he’s scared of El.”

“He’s not scared of me,” El repeated her words from earlier, rolling her eyes.

“Well, as long as he leaves me alone, I don’t really care why,” Kayla said.

“You’re welcome to sit with us any time and hang out with us whenever you want,” Suzie offered.

“Thank you,” Kayla smiled.

Later that night in the female counselors’ cabin, El and Suzie had already changed and gotten ready for bed, and they were both sitting on El’s bottom bunk while El filled Suzie in on what had happened earlier in the day between she and Mike.

“This ten-year-old girl called Mike out for staring at me,” El said.

“We all know he can’t control that,” Suzie laughed and El blushed slightly pink.

“Well, we actually talked afterward, and we decided to officially start dating,” El concluded.

“He asked you to be his girlfriend?” Suzie asked, and El nodded. “Well it’s about time. I can’t believe you guys weren’t dating all along.”

“Like I told Mike, we pretty much were,” El said. “We just hadn’t put a label on it. But now it’s nice to know that we’re on the same page, and we know where we stand with each other.”

“You’re not worried about it being too soon since his last breakup?” Suzie asked.

“No,” El shook her head. “I think enough time has passed and she hurt him badly enough that he would never want her back… I’ve never felt like a rebound with him. I really think he’s over Stephanie and that he is ready for something real with me.”

“Good,” Suzie smiled. “I’m so happy for you guys.”

“Thanks,” El smiled in return.

On the other side of the cabin, Dani was gushing to Nikki about Eric. Dani and Eric were partners for the week, and Dani was excited about spending so much time together.

“It’s so great to see him all day. I’m going to miss him next week when I’ll have to go back to seeing him less,” Dani said, leaning back against her pillow.

“I definitely think you’ll be seeing him less,” Nikki muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Dani asked defensively, propping herself up on one elbow.

“I don’t really know him, but think about it. You’ve only known each other for a couple weeks, you live in different states. I don’t think he’s looking for anything more than a casual hookup at summer camp,” Nikki explained.

“Just because that’s all Jason wanted from you doesn’t mean all guys are creeps like that,” Dani retorted.

“Maybe I’m wrong,” Nikki shrugged. “But if I’m not wrong, at least Jason has been up front about what he wants. I don’t think Eric is being up front with you.”

“Whatever, Nikki,” Dani scoffed. “You’re just bitter that Jason lost interest in you and started going after Kayla, so now you’re trying to sabotage me and Eric by putting doubts in my head.”

“Fine, don’t take me seriously,” Nikki said. “I’m not trying to sabotage anything; I am trying to open your eyes to the possibility that this guy who you barely know might not feel exactly how you want him to feel. Don’t come crying to me if I’m right.”

Dani rolled her eyes and turned over onto her side facing the wall.

“And for the record, Jason didn’t lose interest in me. He proved that real well today,” Nikki added with a glance over at Kayla.

“Good. Keep his interest on you. I don’t want him,” Kayla reiterated what she had said when Nikki confronted her over the weekend.

The cabin soon quieted down, and the five girls went to sleep.

The week continued much like the first day had gone. Mike and El were enjoying teaching the campers together, Mike leading the first two lessons and El leading the final two lessons. They continued taking advantage of the two-hour break between lessons two and three, and they continued showing up late for lunch with slightly swollen lips. Dustin let up on the teasing, but he still smirked when Mike and El would show up a half hour or more after lunch had begun.

At dinner on Wednesday, Mike, El, Dustin, Suzie, and Kayla were seated around their table eating.

“One of my girls threw up dissecting the frog today,” Suzie shared.

“Luckily none of ours have had issues with the dissections this week,” El said. “They actually look forward to it because they think Mike’s first lesson is boring.”

“Thank god we’re done with the simple machine PowerPoints,” Mike sighed. “Tomorrow they get to start building their cars. They won’t think it’s boring then.”

“Kayla and I have been pretty lucky. None of our kiddos have complained much so far. Right, Kayla?” Dustin asked.

When there was no response, the four of them looked at Kayla who was looking over El’s shoulder. They turned to see Jason entering the cafeteria, and they saw him wink at Kayla before walking over to join Nikki for dinner as usual.

“He’s not still giving you problems, is he?” Dustin asked.

“Monday he didn’t. Yesterday he just whistled at me on my way back to the cabin after dinner, and I didn’t think anything of it. Then last night around eight o’clock, I was walking back to the cabin after doing laundry because I didn’t get around to doing it Saturday, and I swear he came out of no where and bumped into me. He called me sexy, and I told him to leave me alone,” Kayla explained. “I haven’t seen him today until just now, and he just winked at me… Meals are fine because I’m with you guys, but when I’m by myself, I’m just always worried that I’m going to run into him.”

“Stick with us,” Dustin said immediately. “If you need to do laundry or go to the admin building to make a phone call or whatever, just say something.”

“I really appreciate that, Dustin. You guys have been great, and I like hanging out with you, but I’m seventeen years old. I shouldn’t need to be escorted around to anywhere I need or want to go,” Kayla said.

“She’s right,” Suzie agreed. “Kayla, have you considered reporting Jason to the director?”

“Report him for what?” Kayla asked.

“Harassment,” Suzie replied as if it were obvious. “You’ve told him numerous times that you are not interested in him and that you want him to leave you alone. Him still making contact with you is harassment. And considering why he won’t leave you alone, it’s sexual harassment at that.”

“You know reporting it won’t solve anything,” Kayla said, shaking her head.

“Why do you say that?” Suzie asked.

“How many news stories have you seen about harassment not being taken seriously? Girls report this kind of behavior all the time, and nobody does anything about it. Not schools or coaches or even the police. Harassment is swept under the rug, and nobody takes any action until something physically happens,” Kayla explained. “Honestly, it’s bullshit the way harassment is treated.”

“Ordinarily, that’s true,” Dustin agreed. “But they have a zero-tolerance policy here, and it doesn’t matter to the director that Jason’s an athlete or popular at his high school or whatever. I think reporting him would be a good idea.”

“And if you want, El and I will go with you so you don’t have to do it alone,” Suzie offered.

“Absolutely,” El agreed.

“Thanks, guys,” Kayla smiled. “I really appreciate it, but I just feel like it would be a waste of time.”

“If you change your mind, just say the word,” Suzie said, and Kayla nodded. Suzie and El exchanged a look of concern and hope that Jason would back off.

Later that night, Dustin and Mike had walked the girls back to their cabin, and they were on their way back to their own. 

“So, how are things with your new girlfriend?” Dustin teased, and Mike couldn’t help but smile at the thought of her.

“Things are so amazing, Dustin. She’s incredible,” Mike said.

“That’s great. And now that she’s your girlfriend, that’s another indication that you shouldn’t worry about taking my advice and moving things forward… you know, physically,” Dustin said.

“Oh, about that… Things started getting intense Saturday night, and…” Mike started.

“You went for it?” Dustin asked, his eyes bulging out of his head in shock. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“It didn’t happen,” Mike said. “She said she isn’t ready and that she needs to know she’s in love and it has to feel like the right time.”

“That makes sense,” Dustin nodded. “She knows you’re not a virgin though, right?”

“Yeah, I told her all about Stephanie. She knows about the relationship, my first time, the breakup, all of it,” Mike said.

“Wow, you’ve really opened up to her,” Dustin said.

“It’s just so easy to talk to her. She knows about my friends, my insecurities, my family. And I mean, she has opened up a lot to me, too,” Mike added. “I just want to know everything there is to know about her. I want to spend every minute I can with her; I don’t even care what we do. We don’t even have to have sex, I don’t care. Seriously, just laying with her under the stars and not saying anything feels a million times better than even the best day with Stephanie did.”

“Shit, you have it bad for this girl,” Dustin said.

“Yeah, I do,” Mike admitted. “And I… I know it’s early, but ever since El brought up the word ‘love,’ I feel like it’s just been on the tip of my tongue.”

“Wait, what?! That’s a huge step, Mike,” Dustin said.

“I know,” Mike agreed.

“I mean, you dated Stephanie for like three months before you told her you loved her,” Dustin said.

“I know. But I swear I never felt like this about Stephanie in the whole two years I was with her,” Mike said. “There’s just something about El, something about the way she makes me feel. It’s like we were meant to find each other. I was scared about how easy this all seemed, but maybe it was like…”

“Destined? Soulmates?” Dustin offered, holding back a scoff.

“I know it sounds cheesy, but yeah, maybe,” Mike said. 

“You believe in fate and soulmates?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it. But there is something here,” Mike replied.

“Do you think you’re going to tell her?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t want to come on too strong and scare her,” Mike said.

“Well, obviously don’t call her your soulmate. But, do you think you’re going to tell her you love her?” Dustin asked. Mike sighed and was silent for several moments.

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “What if she thinks it’s too early to say that? Or worse, what if she thinks I’m only saying it to get her to have sex with me since she said she needs to be in love to have sex?”

“You said she knows you. If she knows you, then she’ll know that’s not what you’re doing,” Dustin said. “As for it being too early, what if she feels the same way and is scared to say it because she’s worried you’ll think it’s too early?”

“I haven’t thought about that,” Mike said. “But what if she doesn’t feel the same way and only likes me and is enjoying getting to know each other and then I say it and screw everything up?”

“You’re worried she won’t say it back?” Dustin inferred.

“There is no way to know that she will,” Mike pointed out.

“No, there isn’t,” Dustin agreed. “But from seeing you two together, I would be more surprised if she didn’t say it back. She is clearly just as head-over-heels about you as you are about her.”

“That’s not possible,” Mike said quickly. “She’s the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and I’m… I don’t know.”

“Don’t start with the self-doubting again,” Dustin said firmly. “You know El, and you know how you feel about her. You know how she makes you feel, and I’m guessing you can feel how she feels about you too. You’ll know when it’s the right time to tell her, but just remember, camp is almost half over.”

Mike nodded. Dustin was right; after this week, camp would be half over. He couldn’t let El go back to Chicago without hearing how he feels about her. Mike and Dustin went inside their cabin, and Mike fell asleep thinking about when would be the right time to tell El how he feels and hoping that she feels the same way.


	10. Chapter 10

After his talk with Dustin, Mike was more conflicted than ever. He knew his feelings for El were real and that they were stronger than he had ever experienced. Admitting to Dustin that he had even been thinking about love with El was the first time Mike had said it out loud, and it seemed like ever since he had, it was all he could think about. Mike worried that he was going to let it slip or stupidly blurt it out because the feeling was just so overwhelming.

But he couldn’t do that. Mike had decided to stick with his gut and hold off on actually telling El how he felt about her. They had only known each other for just under three weeks, and even though there was no denying that they had formed a special bond in that time, Mike could not pretend that they weren’t moving extremely fast as it was. Three weeks ago at this time, Mike did not even know El existed. Now, she was all he could think about; the only person he wanted to spend his time with; the girl he was constantly kissing whenever he could and sneaking out to see at night; and the girl that had recently become his new girlfriend. It was fast. Mike knew it was fast. But it all felt right.

Even so, just because everything between them had felt right so far did not mean that El was ready for Mike to drop the L-word this soon. He did not want to scare her, and he did not want to hear her say that she really liked him but did not love him. El not returning the feeling would only create tension between them, Mike was sure of it. It would ruin what they had built over the last couple of weeks, and Mike was willing to keep his feelings to himself if it meant not risking that connection.

Of course the other main reason Mike had decided to wait to tell El he loves her was that he did not want her to feel like he was pressuring her. He did not want El to feel pressure to say those words back to him if she was not completely ready to say them on her own. And most importantly, Mike did not want El to feel like he was trying to pressure her into having sex before she was ready. Dustin had raised a good point; if El really knew Mike the way he thought she did, El would know that he was not trying to pressure her into sex. But, Mike still worried that a red flag would go off in El’s mind at the timing of Mike saying he loved her just days after learning that El was saving her virginity until she was in love. No, Mike was not going to pressure her, and he was not going to say or do anything that could potentially make El feel like he was trying to pressure her. 

So, he waited. He continued seeing her every waking minute that he could, being completely in awe of everything about her. The way her chestnut hair hung over her shoulders or blew in the breeze or fanned around her head when he had her laying beneath him on the table, the way her pearly white smile lit up her entire face and made her hazel eyes twinkle, the sweet sound of her laugh every time he said something to make her smile, and even the sound of her voice talking about biomes and rocks while she interacted with the campers completely captivated Mike. 

Mike had never been so conflicted. But, he knew without a doubt that the conflict he was feeling was only about when to tell her, not about how he actually felt. If there was one thing that had become clear to him, it was that regardless of how fast it happened, Mike had fallen in love with El.

It was time for break, and the campers had just left the classroom. El laced her fingers with Mike’s and pulled him close to her, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss him softly on the lips. She pulled back and smiled, making Mike’s racing heart skip a beat in his chest. He leaned down to kiss her again, feeling her smile widen against his lips through their kiss.

“Hmm,” El sighed contentedly as she laid her head against Mike’s chest after the kiss had ended. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist, hugging him close to her. “I don’t want this week to end.”

Mike’s heart warmed as he gently caressed El’s back. This week had been perfect, and he was going to be sad to see it end, too. They would still have meals, free time, and, of course, their spot in the woods, but Mike really enjoyed working with the campers with El. She amazed him every day by how great she was with the kids and how natural it seemed for her.

“I don’t want it to end, either,” Mike said softly.

“I’m with Eric next week and then Tom the week after, and then…” El’s voice trailed off.

Mike’s arms around El tightened as she talked about working with the other guys, and he felt a pang of sadness in his stomach when her voice trailed off. It was the first reference El had made to camp coming to an end. It hurt worse hearing El acknowledge it than it had hearing Dustin acknowledge it.

“Let’s not think about that right now,” Mike said, trying to push the thought from his mind that had begun to linger.

El nodded and looked up at him, moving her arms from around his waist up to connect around his neck, and she pulled his lips back to hers. She pulled him along as she backed up to the nearest table and hopped up so she was sitting on the edge of it, her knees on either side of Mike’s hips as their bodies pressed together. 

Mike’s hands gently trailed from El’s waist, down her hips, to the end of her denim shorts, and began rubbing from her thighs to her knees that he was standing between. He felt goosebumps cover her soft skin as his fingers made their way back to her waist. 

El pulled back just enough to look into his already dark eyes, made even darker by his blown pupils. She leaned her forehead against his, panting lightly, and she glanced down at Mike’s lips that were swollen from kissing her and then back to his eyes. He was staring at her so intently.

Mike could feel El’s breath against his lips as they remained pressed against each other, their foreheads touching, the tips of their noses hardly a millimeter away from each other’s. He gulped down the words that were rising in his throat, the words he had convinced himself it was too early to say, the words that he feared a moment this intimate would cause him to lose control and admit. 

El closed her eyes again and moved her lips forward just enough to lightly graze against his as she peppered him with soft, sweet kisses.

“El,” Mike breathed against her lips.

She hummed a response, her forehead resting against the bridge of his nose. When he didn’t answer, El pulled back slightly and looked up at him. Mike was staring intently at her once more, and El felt her stomach fluttering as chills coursed through her veins.

“Mike, what is it?” she whispered.

The silence in the room surrounded them while El waited for Mike to respond.

He looked into her hazel eyes, and it was like she had him in a trance. Everything else faded away, and all Mike could see was El. All he could feel, smell, and taste was her.

“El, I…” he whispered. “I-I… lo-”

Just then, a sudden vibration buzzed through them, causing Mike and El both to jump. It took Mike a couple seconds to realize that his cell phone in his pocket was the culprit and that the vibration was so aggressive because his pocket happened to be pressed up against the table, magnifying the sound and causing the feeling to ripple through El’s leg that was resting against it too.

“S-sorry,” Mike mumbled, looking away from El as he fished his phone out of his pocket.

El watched his brow furrow as he read the message and she grew concerned that something may have happened.

“It’s just Dustin,” Mike said. “But he says we need to hurry up and get to the cafeteria.”

“That’s strange. He normally just waits for us to show up whenever we get there and then makes fun of us,” El said.

“I know. That makes me think there must be something important going on,” Mike agreed, and El nodded.

El hopped down from the table, and as Mike turned to walk toward the door to leave, she bit her lip in hesitation before stopping him.

“Mike?” she said, and Mike turned to face her. “Real quick, before we go… what were you about to say?”

Mike’s eyes widened briefly as the realization of what he was about to admit sank in.

“Oh, uh… I was just going to say that… I love being able to spend time with you like this,” Mike recovered.

“Oh. So do I,” El smiled, but Mike thought he detected a bit of sadness or disappointment in the smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

He offered her a smile in return before taking her hand and walking with her through the woods to the cafeteria to see what Dustin had interrupted them for.

El was walking alongside Mike, his hand in hers, on their way to the cafeteria. She snuck a sideways glance at him and bit her bottom lip, deciding not to press any further about what he was really about to say to her back in the classroom. She didn’t want to pressure him, and she didn’t want to assume he was going to say something other than what he told her he was going to say. But…

Is it possible that Mike almost said that he loves her? El felt butterflies swarming in her stomach even at the prospect. It certainly was early in their relationship, and they hadn’t known each other very long… But does length of time really matter when it comes to how someone makes you feel? El had never really thought about whether she believed in the love-at-first-sight idea, but surely people could fall in love within a few weeks, especially spending as much time together as she and Mike had.

But still, is that what he was about to say? Did he feel that way about her? Did she feel that way about him? There was no denying the butterflies that filled her ribcage when Mike smiled at her, or the smile that automatically crossed her face at the sight of him, or the overwhelming desire to listen to his voice for hours, or the way her heart pounded every time his lips closed in on hers… Shit. Did she love him?

Mike and El reached the cafeteria, and El’s preoccupation with whether she and Mike were on the brink of admitting that they loved each other quickly took a backseat as they approached the table where their friends were waiting. Kayla was sitting next to Suzie, and her face was filled with conflicting emotions. El could see anger, confusion, embarrassment, and sadness.

“Hey guys,” Dustin said as Mike and El sat down at the table.

“We got here as quick as we could,” El said. “What’s going on?”

“Jason crossed the line this time,” Suzie said.

“I mean… I guess it isn’t that big of a deal,” Kayla said, but her words sounded forced and the others could tell she did not believe it herself. “Maybe I’m overreacting.”

“I don’t think you’re overreacting at all,” Suzie said immediately. “That entitled creep helped himself to a piece of your body without your consent.”

“Wait, what?!” Mike exclaimed.

“He did what?!” El gasped at the same time.

“It was this morning after breakfast,” Kayla began. “I wanted to run back to the cabin and grab a hairtie to put my hair up because it’s so hot today, and I had plenty of time… I should’ve just left my hair down and sweat.”

“What happened?” El asked.

“I don’t know if he saw me go down the path toward the cabin or if he followed me, but when I came back outside, he was leaning against a tree casually like he was waiting for me,” Kayla continued. “I ignored him and just started walking away so I could get to class on time, but he caught up and walked with me. He said it’s a shame we haven’t gotten to know each other and that we should change that. I told him I wasn’t interested in getting to know him and asked him to leave me alone.”

“What did he say?” El asked gently after Kayla was silent for a moment.

“Just something gross about how he has an idea that could change my mind, and he called me baby,” Kayla shuddered. “I told him not to call me that, that I’m not his baby, and to stay away from me… Then he said he knew the quiet ones were always feisty and that we could have a lot of fun together. And then he grabbed my ass.”

“Are you serious?” Mike asked, his eyes widening.

Kayla nodded, looking down at the floor. Mike glanced across the table at Dustin and Suzie and could tell by their lack of surprised reaction that they had heard this story before he and El arrived.

“I shoved him backwards, away from me, and I just ran the rest of the way to our classroom,” Kayla concluded.

“When she got there, she looked out of breath and really upset. I knew something was up, but she didn’t want to talk about it,” Dustin explained.

“I just wanted to focus on the kids and pretend nothing happened,” Kayla admitted.

“Well something did happen, and he needs to face consequences,” El said. “I agree with what Suzie said the other day. I think you should report him to the director.”

“Do you honestly think that will do any good?” Kayla asked.

“What he did today surpasses harassment,” Suzie replied. “He physically touched you.”

“Just my butt. It’s not like he exposed himself or tried to… you know, do anything to me,” Kayla said.

“Your butt is still part of you that you did not consent to him touching. And thank god he didn’t try to do anything else,” Suzie said. “If he is willing to grope you in broad daylight, who’s to say what he would do if he ran into you close to curfew when it is getting dark? What if you weren’t in an open place where you could run away? What if he cornered you in the laundry room?”

“Please stop,” Kayla shuddered.

“I’m just saying, he clearly does not respect your boundaries, and he has shown that he is not scared to cross a line with you,” Suzie said gently. “Everything I said and more are scenarios that the camp would have to consider being faced with, and I don’t think they would want to risk any lawsuits if Jason tries anything again.”

Kayla tilted her head to the side as she considered Suzie’s logic. El glanced over at Mike and saw him watching closely, waiting to hear Kayla’s decision.

“I guess you do have a good point,” Kayla finally said. “I just don’t want to bring this all up to her, have her talk to Jason about it, and then he ends up getting to stay at camp and I still have to deal with him for the next three weeks.”

“I understand that,” Suzie nodded.

Kayla was silent again as she thought longer about what to do. Finally, she nodded.

“I’ll do it… But will you two still come with me?” she asked, looking from Suzie to El.

“Absolutely,” Suzie responded as El nodded adamantly. 

“Thanks,” Kayla sighed in relief. “We can go today after classes.”

El and Suzie agreed, and the five of them ate lunch and continued to talk and hang out until the end of their break.

When classes had ended for the day, El, Suzie, and Kayla met up to go to the admin building and meet with the director. Mike and Dustin wished them good luck, and the girls were off. When they arrived at the admin building, they walked down the hallway until they reached Katherine White’s office. Suzie peeked around the door that was slightly ajar and saw that the director was inside her office and was not currently meeting with anyone else.

“Excuse me,” Suzie said as she knocked on the door.

“Can I help you?” Katherine asked in a surprised but pleasant tone as she looked up from her desk.

“I hope so. We have something important to discuss with you,” Suzie replied, pushing open the door to reveal El and Kayla.

“Regarding?” Katherine asked.

Suzie and El looked at Kayla and waited for her to respond.

“I’m here to report some harassment,” Kayla said, the lack of confidence clear in her voice. Katherine’s face softened, and Kayla felt more at ease before adding, “Sexual harassment.”

“Come on in, girls. Have a seat,” Katherine instructed, welcoming them into her office and gesturing toward the two chairs facing her desk. “I’ll go grab a third chair from Ron’s office.”

Kayla and Suzie sat in the two existing chairs while Katherine stood to hurry next door to grab a third. When Katherine returned, Ron was alongside her carrying a chair for himself, to the girls’ surprise.

“Would it be alright with you ladies if my assistant director Ron joins us, with this discussion involving such a serious topic?” Katherine asked. Suzie and El both looked at Kayla.

“That’s fine,” Kayla shrugged.

Katherine placed a third chair on the opposite side of her desk, and El took a seat. Ron placed his chair next to Katherine, and when all five were settled, Katherine prompted Kayla to begin.

“It’s about Jason, one of the P.E. counselors,” she started, and Katherine nodded. “It started a little over a week ago. At first, he just kept sitting by me in the cafeteria, trying to walk with me and talk with me. But then it escalated.”

Katherine and Ron listened closely as Kayla recounted her experiences with Jason from the past week.

“And did you make clear to him that you were not interested in a relationship with him, romantic or otherwise?” Katherine asked.

“Yes,” Kayla replied.

Kayla continued to tell Katherine and Ron about how uncomfortable she felt when Jason would whistle or wink at her and about the time Jason ran into her on her way back from doing laundry and called her sexy. When all that was left was the story from earlier today, Kayla retold what took place outside of her cabin, repeating every detail she had told her friends earlier in the day.

“I have told him numerous times to leave me alone, but he just won’t,” Kayla said, the firmness building in her voice the more she spoke. “It scares me to think about what he could do next, and honestly, I don’t want to be here any longer if he is… Either he needs to leave, or I’m going home this Saturday and not coming back.”

“Wow. That is certainly a lot of misbehavior,” Katherine said when Kayla had finished. “Are there any witnesses to any of these instances?”

“El and I and Dustin Henderson and Mike Wheeler all saw Jason near her countless times when it was clear that Kayla was uncomfortable,” Suzie responded quickly. “And we also saw several of the looks and the winks, and we saw Kayla step away from him in the cafeteria and Jason continue to not leave her alone.”

“The allegations with physical contact, did anyone witness those?” Katherine asked.

“No. It was just me and him when those happened. I’m sure he did that on purpose,” Kayla replied bitterly, starting to feel a pit of discouragement forming in her stomach.

“I see,” Katherine said softly. “Well, we have to discuss this before making any decisions-”

“He is obviously dangerous,” Suzie blurted out. “Or at the very least, inappropriate. Even if you take away the worst parts of Kayla’s story because there were not witnesses, that still isn’t the type of behavior you should want in someone working with your young campers every day.”

“I agree,” El chimed in. “He’s not a good person.”

El considered including the other vile things that Jason had said and done, but she decided not to make Kayla’s report about herself.

“I appreciate you coming forward, Kayla, and reporting this to me,” Katherine said. “And I appreciate both of you girls’ input as well. This is something that we need to discuss further before taking any action, and of course we have to speak with Jason as well. But please rest assured that Camp Know Where prides itself on a zero-tolerance policy for harassment of any kind.”

“When should we know the outcome?” Kayla asked. “Because like I said, if he gets to stay, I’m leaving Saturday.”

“I see no reason why we can’t reach a decision by tomorrow evening,” Katherine replied.

The girls glanced at Ron who had sat silently throughout the entire discussion. They each wondered what his thoughts were on the matter, but his blank expression gave them no indication. Kayla, Suzie, and El stood from their chairs and thanked both Katherine and Ron for their time before leaving the office.

“How do you feel?” Suzie asked.

“I wish I could say that I feel like a weight has been lifted, or that I feel confident in them, or at the very least happy that I did this,” Kayla sighed. “But I don’t know… I think I might be going home this weekend.”

“I wouldn’t start packing your bags yet,” El said. “She may have just been asking those questions for more detail or to know if there was anyone else she needed to talk to that may have witnessed anything. She made a point to remind us of the zero-tolerance policy.”

“That’s true,” Kayla said. “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

The girls started on their way to the cafeteria, as dinner had started being served about ten minutes ago. They got their food and joined Mike and Dustin who each greeted their girlfriends with a peck on the lips.

“How did it go?” Dustin asked as the girls sat down.

“We met with both the director and the assistant director. I explained everything that has happened over the past week, and then she said there were some discussions that needed to take place before any action would happen,” Kayla explained.

“Kayla did awesome,” El smiled reassuringly.

“Absolutely,” Suzie agreed. “And as El pointed out, the director went out of her way to mention the zero-tolerance harassment policy, so I think they’re going to take care of it.”

“Well that’s great. I really hope they do,” Mike said. “You shouldn’t have to put up with that asshole.”

“I won’t have to anymore. One way or another, he’ll be out of my life by Saturday because either they send him home or I’m going home,” Kayla revealed.

“God, please let them kick him out,” Dustin pleaded, pressing his hands together like a prayer and looking up at the ceiling. Suzie chuckled and swatted his arm.

“They will if they care about doing the right thing,” Mike said.

“All we can do is wait and see,” Kayla repeated her sentiments from earlier. “But El, Suzie, I really appreciate you two coming with me. I know I would not have done it without you.”

“No problem at all,” El said, and Suzie nodded.

The five of them continued eating their dinner and talking about how everyone else’s day went. When dinner was over, Suzie suggested going down to the lake for a while. The girls and guys separated to go to their respective cabins to change and planned on meeting at the lake.

On the walk to their cabin, Suzie and Kayla were engulfed in conversation about Kayla’s artwork. Kayla had pulled out her phone to check the time, and Suzie had seen her lock screen background was an intricately painted close-up of a horse’s face. Kayla shared that she had actually painted it and then explained to Suzie that she paints and draws whenever she can and even has a sketchbook at camp with her. El did her best to listen as Kayla explained that she mainly creates animal scenes due to her love of animals and her goal to become a veterinarian one day.

“You could hang your own pieces in your practice, and when people ask about them you could sell them. Two businesses in one!” Suzie exclaimed.

Kayla began showing Suzie photos of her artwork on her phone, and El’s mind drifted to what had happened between herself and Mike earlier in the day. With everything going on with Kayla, El had not thought about it for hours, but now it consumed her mind.

What if Dustin’s text message had not interrupted Mike? What if Mike really had been about to say that he loves her? What would she have said back? She would have been so taken off guard… Is Mike close to saying it? Will he try again, or was he just caught up in the moment? El wanted to be prepared to say something back to him because the last thing she wanted was to react in a way that would hurt him or embarrass him. But could she say those words back to him? Did she really feel that way? Was she ready to say it? Was it too soon?

“Hello? Earth to El,” Suzie said in a sing-song voice, pulling El from her thoughts as they reached the cabin.

“Sorry, I guess I just zoned out,” El said, and Suzie looked at her suspiciously.

Kayla grabbed a swimsuit and went into the bathroom to change, and Suzie plopped down on El’s bed.

“Okay, what’s on your mind?” she asked.

El bit her bottom lip, considering whether or not to tell Suzie. It wasn’t that El didn’t think she could trust Suzie… but what if Mike wasn’t actually going to say it? She didn’t want Suzie to tell Dustin and then have it get back to Mike…

“El?” Suzie said firmly.

“S-sorry… Okay, can this just stay between you and me? Don’t even tell Dustin,” El asked.

“Oh, wow. It must be big,” Suzie said, widening her eyes.

“Promise me you’ll keep it to yourself, and I’ll tell you,” El repeated.

Suzie pursed her lips. El figured it would be quite difficult for Suzie to actually keep information from Dustin. But, soon Suzie relented and nodded.

“I promise,” Suzie said.

“I think… I think Mike almost told me that he loves me today,” El admitted quietly.

“What?!” Suzie exclaimed, her mouth dropping open and her eyes tripling in size.

“Shh!” El shushed her rapidly.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. When? What happened?” Suzie asked.

“It was right when break started after lesson two. We were kissing and… I don’t know. It just felt really intimate all of a sudden, like there was no one or nothing else in the world. And he started to speak, and I swear it sounded like he started to say ‘I love’ before he was interrupted by Dustin’s text,” El explained.

“Damn it, Dustin,” Suzie muttered, and El couldn’t help but laugh. “Well, did you ask him about it?”

“Yeah. He said he was going to say he loves being able to spend time together like this,” El replied, and Suzie scrunched her forehead.

“Hmm. Maybe he got caught up in the moment and then chickened out afterward,” Suzie suggested.

“Maybe. It just got me thinking. What if he does say it?” El voiced what she had been thinking about.

“What would you say back?” Suzie asked.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t want to say it back just to say it back,” El said.

“I don’t think Mike would want you to feel pressured to say it back unless you feel it,” Suzie said.

“I don’t think he would either,” El agreed. “But if he puts himself out there, I don’t want to hurt him either.”

“Well, do you feel it too?” Suzie asked.

“I don’t know,” El sighed. “I love being with him, talking to him, learning about his family and friends and everything. I feel safe and happy whenever I’m with him… It’s like I never want it to end.”

El stopped talking when she looked up and saw the face Suzie was giving her. Suzie was giving a knowing grin, and her eyes were overflowing with happiness. El couldn’t help but grin and blush, looking away from Suzie.

“Isn’t it too early, though?” El asked.

“Don’t be too fixated on that,” Suzie said. “Don’t even think, just go with your gut instinct. If Mike were here right now and he said ‘El, I love you,’ what would you say?”

“I-”

“I’m ready,” Kayla said as she came out of the bathroom, pulling a t-shirt down over her bikini top.

Suzie deflated, upset that she would not get to hear El’s answer. She and El hopped up and went into the bathroom stalls to change into their swimsuits. Then the three girls walked together to the lake to meet up with Mike and Dustin.

“It’s about time! What took you so long?” Dustin called when the girls came into view.

Dustin and Mike were sitting on one of the large rocks along the edge of the lake talking, and when he saw the girls, Dustin stood up, holding his arms out to embrace Suzie.

“You know it takes us longer to get ready than you,” Suzie said unapologetically as she let Dustin wrap his arms around her and she leaned up to give him a peck on the lips.

“You look amazing,” Mike said as El took off her t-shirt to reveal a green bikini top that he had not seen yet this summer.

“Thank you,” El smiled.

The five of them took off the rest of their shorts and t-shirts and hurried into the lake. They had a fun time swimming and splashing each other. Dustin suggested a game of chicken and decided they could play with five people by rotating out the girl on the losing team. The first round had El on Mike’s shoulders versus Suzie on Dustin’s shoulders. Dustin let out what sounded like a battle cry as he charged toward Mike, and Suzie soon knocked El backward into the water.

Kayla hesitantly climbed onto Mike’s shoulders and looked toward El for a reassuring look that she was okay with the situation. To Dustin’s disappointment, Kayla defeated Suzie, knocking her into the lake.

“Hop on, El!” Dustin hollered, clapping his shoulder.

El looked over at Mike who shrugged and smiled, and then she swam over to Dustin and climbed on top of his shoulders. She was a little shaky as Dustin stood up, raising her into the air.

“You good to go?” Dustin called up to her.

“Yeah! Let’s get ‘em!” El replied, shooting Mike a playful grin.

“You’re on! You’re going down, babe,” Mike teased back.

Mike and Dustin moved toward each other in the water, and above them Kayla and El wrestled until El fell backward, shrieking until she hit the water.

“Victory!” Kayla cried out, pumping both fists into the air as El resurfaced. Kayla then slid off of Mike’s shoulders into the water herself.

“I can’t believe you pushed me into the water like that,” El said, splashing Mike.

“To be fair, Kayla pushed you into the water,” Mike teased, splashing her back.

“All is fair in love and chicken. El and I admit defeat,” Dustin chimed in, taking a slight bow.

While Dustin’s head was bowed down, Suzie took the opportunity to splash a big wave of water at him, dousing his hair and face. He looked up, spitting and sputtering through the water until his eyes landed on his laughing girlfriend.

“You think that’s funny?” he challenged.

“Oh no,” Suzie muttered.

“I’ll show you funny!” Dustin called as he lunged forward, sending waves rippling out to either side of him as he reached for Suzie.

Suzie squealed and tried her best to swim away, but Dustin quickly caught up with her. He wrapped his arms around her middle, stood up, and flung her into the water, splashing the other three with water.

The five of them continued having a great time in the lake, and El noticed Suzie watching her and Mike every now and then. El assumed Suzie was observing to try and see for herself if she could tell that Mike loved El. El hoped to herself that Suzie would keep her promise and not tell Dustin what they had discussed.

As the sun started to go down, Kayla suggested that it was time to head back to the cabins. Suzie agreed, and she, Kayla, and Dustin started walked out of the water and began drying off. El moved to join them, but Mike pulled her by her wrist back to him in the lake.

“Aren’t you guys coming?” Suzie asked.

“You go on ahead. We’ll catch up,” Mike said.

Dustin, Suzie, and Kayla began walking away from the lake, but not before sending Mike and El some smirks and eye rolls.

“Tonight was so much fun,” El said. “I think Kayla really needed it after today.”

“I think so, too. And it’s great that you and Suzie were so supportive,” Mike said.

“We need to stick together against jerks like that,” El shrugged, and Mike nodded.

“But you had fun tonight, huh? Losing?” Mike asked, the playfulness returning to his tone.

“I’m at a disadvantage. I’m the shortest one. It’s easy to throw me around,” El insisted.

“Is it?” Mike grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist.

“Don’t you dare,” El warned.

“Fine. But only since you asked so nicely,” Mike said sarcastically.

El chuckled and rolled her eyes, feeling that Mike did not loosen his grip on her waist. She looked up and met his eyes which, to her, were shining brighter than the stars that were starting to fill the sky. El reached up and cupped the side of his face, gently rubbing her thumb over his cheekbone. Then she leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips, feeling him press his hands flat against her back to hold her against him. As El pulled back and looked into Mike’s eyes again, Suzie’s question popped back into her head.

And now, El was sure she knew the answer.


	11. Chapter 11

The next morning, Mike and El arrived at their classroom, happy to be with each other but both with a sense of sadness knowing this was the last day of their week working together. The campers seemed to have the same type of conflicted feelings, being excited to finish their projects but sad that their week at camp was so short and they would be leaving tomorrow morning. Just before they were about to begin their first lesson at 10am, one of the female advisors stepped into the doorway of the classroom and made eye contact with Mike, beckoning him over.

“Mike Wheeler?” she asked when Mike had reached her, and he nodded to confirm. “The director wants to see you in her office at noon when your campers go to break.”

“What for?” Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

“She just has some questions for you,” the advisor replied. “She’ll be waiting in her office at noon. It shouldn’t take too long, and you’ll still have time to grab some lunch.”

“Okay, thanks,” Mike said. It wasn’t lunch he was worried about missing though; it was time with El.

The advisor left, and Mike walked back to the front of the classroom where El was waiting with a questioning expression.

“What did she want?” El asked.

“I guess the director wants to talk to me at noon. She has some questions for me,” Mike repeated what he had been told.

“Oh, I bet I know what it is,” El said. “When Suzie and I went to talk to her with Kayla, the director asked us if anyone else witnessed anything, and we mentioned you and Dustin.”

“So she wants to ask me about Jason?” Mike asked.

“That’s all I can think it would be,” El replied. “It shouldn’t take too long though.”

“To talk about what a jackass Jason is? No, that won’t take long at all,” Mike chuckled.

They turned their attention to their classroom full of students and began their final day. During the first lesson, most of the campers still had some finishing touches to put on their balloon-powered cars, so they spent the first half of the hour completing those. When it came time to race them, the ten campers lined up along the wall, and Mike put down a line of masking tape on the floor to indicate the finish line.

“Okay, is everybody ready?” El asked, looking down the line of students who nodded in response. “On your marks, get set, GO!”

Mike and El stood to the side and watched as their campers excitedly rooted for their own cars. One car made it halfway and then stopped, another was moving slowly but steadily, but most were competitively on their way to the finish line.

“Ha! In your face!” exclaimed the young boy whose car crossed the line first. His excitement was met with disappointed groans from several of his classmates.

“Alright, you guys have about twenty minutes before you need to be ready for the dissection,” Mike said.

“Can we race our cars some more?” asked one boy who was particularly annoyed that his car had lost.

“Sure. Just have everything cleaned up and ready for your biology lesson in twenty minutes,” Mike replied.

The kids broke into smaller groups, some still wanting to race each other, some wanting to admire each other’s cars, and some ready to move on. Mike and El went back to the front of the classroom to talk while the campers had twenty minutes of free time.

“I wonder if Dustin got called to the director’s office, too,” Mike said, pulling out his phone and sending Dustin a text message to ask him.

“I’m sure he did if you did,” El said, watching as Mike stared at his phone for several seconds after he finished typing. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. It’s just not going through,” Mike replied, turning his phone to show her the blue sending bar at the top of the screen that had stopped, showing it was having difficulty delivering the message. “The service here is so weird.”

“It works when it wants to work,” El shrugged.

“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Mike asked, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He saw the sadness briefly in her eyes as she realized they only had three Saturdays left together.

“Remember when we all went on that hiking trail and found that cliff and that stream? It was so beautiful and peaceful… I was thinking maybe we could go out there again, but just the two of us, and spend the day together,” El suggested.

“That sounds perfect,” Mike agreed.

Soon, it was time for the biology lesson to start, and Mike led the campers in the dissection of the fetal pig. As expected, a few of the campers voiced how gross they thought it was, but most of them were intrigued. After finishing the dissection and cleaning up, the campers were dismissed for their lunch and P.E. hours.

“I’ll meet you in the cafeteria when I’m done with the director,” Mike said when he and El were alone.

“Or, I could grab a sandwich for you and meet you in our spot,” El suggested, her lips curving into a grin.

“Well that sounds way better,” Mike smiled and leaned in to kiss her softly.

“You should get going,” El said when Mike had pulled back, and he nodded, knowing she was right.

As El headed toward the cafeteria, Mike made his way to the admin building to speak with the director. He went inside and walked down the hallway until he reached Katherine White’s office door which was ajar. Mike knocked on the open door, and Katherine looked up and greeted him with a smile.

“Mike Wheeler?” she asked.

“Yes, ma’am,” Mike replied, pushing the door open the rest of the way and stepping inside.

“Have a seat,” Katherine said, gesturing toward the chair opposite her own. “There is a matter I wish to discuss with you, and then you will be on your way. Excuse me for just a moment.”

Katherine picked up the phone on her desk and pressed a few buttons while Mike waited patiently.

“Ron, Mike Wheeler is here. You can come on over,” Katherine said into the receiver before hanging it back up.

A moment later, a man that Mike remembered from the first day of introductions walked in, smiled and nodded cordially at Mike, and sat next to Katherine.

“I hope you don’t mind, I prefer to have my assistant director with me when I handle these types of matters,” Katherine explained.

“I don’t mind,” Mike said simply.

“Mike, as you may or may not be aware, there has been an issue brought to my attention regarding two of your fellow counselors, Kayla Schmidt and Jason Reynolds,” Katherine began. “Are you familiar with the issue I am referring to?”

“I am,” Mike nodded.

“Miss Schmidt seems to feel as though Mr. Reynolds has been harassing her. Of course, Camp Know Where has a zero-tolerance policy regarding harassment of any type, but these types of claims need to be investigated thoroughly before taking action. Certainly, we don’t want to wrongly discipline someone over what could have been a misunderstanding,” Katherine explained.

“All due respect, I don’t think there is a misunderstanding here. I think it’s pretty clear that Kayla wants Jason to leave her alone, and he is not leaving her alone,” Mike said.

“Miss Schmidt has reported several instances when Mr. Reynolds has made her feel uncomfortable, but she admitted that not all of those instances had witnesses,” Katherine continued. “Could you please tell me about any inappropriate conduct that you personally witnessed between Mr. Reynolds and Miss Schmidt?”

“I think the first time was in the cafeteria a little over a week ago,” Mike said. “He sat down next to her, and she scooted away from him. At some point he put his hand on her lower back, and she pulled away again. It was pretty obvious that she didn’t want him that close to her, and she definitely didn’t want him touching her.”

“Is that the only physical contact you saw between the two of them?” Katherine asked.

“Well, yeah, but Kayla has been spending more time with me and my friends because Jason won’t really approach her if she’s in a bigger group,” Mike said. “But I’ve still seen some looks he has given her, and I’ve heard all of her stories about how uncomfortable he makes her and how he has targeted her when she has been alone.”

“What stories has Miss Schmidt told you?” Katherine asked.

“She told me that Jason bumped into her one night when she was on her way back to her cabin after doing laundry and called her sexy,” Mike replied. “And the most recent time when Jason was waiting for her outside of her cabin, and when Kayla told him to leave her alone, he said some pretty gross things to her and grabbed her as- er, her butt.”

“Miss Schmidt reported those both to me,” Katherine nodded. “But all that you personally saw was Mr. Reynolds place his hand on her back one time and look her way a few times?”

“I guess, technically, yes,” Mike admitted. “But I believe everything Kayla said.”

“Unfortunately, to substantiate these types of claims, we need more than simply believing the stories we are told,” Katherine said. “Is there anything else that has happened in your presence regarding Jason Reynolds and Kayla Schmidt that you think I should know, or that you think would assist me in handling this situation?”

Mike pursed his lips. He was frustrated that Kayla’s experience was being handled this way, and by a woman. Then he remembered one last component that he hoped would sway the director in the right way.

“Jason’s goal while he is here is to hook up with as many of the female counselors as possible,” Mike said. “The way he talks about them is disgusting, and he talks about them openly in the cabin, in front of me and all the other male counselors.”

“Has he said anything specific to Kayla Schmidt?” Katherine asked.

“Yes. About Kayla, about Nikki, Dani, and even El,” Mike replied bitterly, feeling his blood boil as he remembered El’s name coming out of Jason’s mouth that very first weekend. “The only one he hasn’t objectified is Suzie.”

“Can you share any details?” Katherine asked.

“Jason said from the very beginning that his goal was to – excuse my language – fuck Nikki by the end of the first week,” Mike said, and Katherine’s eyes widened. “After he got what he wanted from Nikki, he said that he wanted his turn with Dani.”

“And Kayla?” Katherine pressed.

“Just before the inappropriate behavior started toward her, Jason said he was going to go after Kayla because she’s the quiet one and he thought it would be fun,” Mike said. “I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Jason decided he wanted to hook up with Kayla and then started paying her extra attention and touching her inappropriately.”

“Well, that is certainly some new information,” Katherine said. “Who was present in the cabin that would have heard Mr. Reynolds say these things, other than yourself?”

“Everyone. Dustin, Tom…”

“And Eric Lawson?” Katherine asked, looking up from the notepad she was writing on.

“Well, yes, Eric was there,” Mike replied reluctantly. “But you should know that Jason and Eric are sort of friends, and Eric is actually the one that Jason was saying these things to, so I don’t know if Eric would lie for him and say Jason didn’t say these things.”

“Noted,” Katherine muttered as she finished jotting notes on her notepad. “Well, is there anything else that you want to tell me?”

“That’s all of it,” Mike replied.

“Thank you for coming in to speak with me,” Katherine smiled as she, Ron, and Mike all stood.

As Mike walked out of Katherine’s office, he saw Dustin sitting on a bench along the wall in the hallway.

“Dustin?” Mike said, and Dustin looked up at him. “So you did get called down here.”

“Yeah, what’s it about?” Dustin asked.

“The Kayla and Jason situation,” Mike replied simply. “I take it you never got my text?”

“No,” Dustin shook his head and looked at his phone again.

“Okay. Well, it’s pretty simple. You just have to tell her how much of an asshole Jason is,” Mike said.

“I think I can handle that,” Dustin chuckled.

“Dustin Henderson?” came Katherine’s voice from the doorway.

“Good luck,” Mike muttered and walked toward the exit as Dustin went inside Katherine’s office.

Mike started into the woods and considered shooting El a text to let her know he was on his way from Katherine’s office, in case she had not left the cafeteria yet. He decided not to bother trying since service seemed to be particularly bad today. Luckily, when he stepped into the clearing, Mike saw El in the grass waiting for him with a styrofoam food container next to her.

“Hey,” Mike smiled as he sat down next to her and kissed her on the cheek.

“It’s about time. I’m starving,” El said with a smile as she opened the styrofoam container to show two sandwiches.

“You could’ve eaten lunch without me,” Mike chuckled, and El shrugged.

“So, how was it with the director?” El asked before biting into her turkey sandwich.

“Frustrating,” Mike replied, and El furrowed her brow. “I mean, I know they need to have as much evidence and as many corroborating stories as possible to have a strong case against him, but damn. It really felt like Kayla wasn’t going to be believed because nobody witnessed the times Jason actually grabbed her… And he probably made sure nobody would witness those times before they happened.”

“I know,” El agreed. “That’s kind of how I felt too. But she made a point to remind us of the zero-tolerance policy.”

“Yeah, she said that to me, too,” Mike nodded. “And then she basically just asked me what I saw and what I knew.”

“Well, thank you for talking to her and supporting Kayla’s report,” El smiled.

“I just hope it works out for her,” Mike said.

El nodded in agreement, and the two of them finished their sandwiches in peace. When they were finished, Mike closed the styrofoam box and set it off to the side.

“When I was leaving her office, Dustin was waiting in the hall for his turn,” he said.

“Hopefully she can make a decision pretty quickly then. I’m sure you and Dustin will confirm what Kayla, Suzie, and I told her,” El said.

“Yeah… she might talk to Tom and Eric, too, though,” Mike revealed.

“Why would she talk to them?” El asked, furrowing her brow.

“At the end, she asked me if there was anything else I could tell her about Jason, and I told her about some of the shitty things he’s said about all the girls in the cabin, particularly about Kayla,” Mike replied.

“Like what?” El asked, and then thought better of it. “Wait, do I even want to know?”

“Probably not,” Mike chuckled. “Just how he wants to hook up with all of you and that after he slept with Nikki, he was targeting Kayla… But I’ll spare you the words he used.”

“What a pig,” El scoffed. “Did he ever say anything about me?”

“Only in the beginning,” Mike replied. “I think he could tell from the start that you weren’t going to be into him… And then you embarrassed him by slapping the shit out of him in front of everyone.”

“Seriously?!” El laughed exasperatedly. “You’re still bringing that up?”

“I’m going to bring that up for the rest of our lives. That was badass,” Mike laughed.

El felt her cheeks blush slightly when Mike mentioned the rest of their lives, but she just playfully rolled her eyes and look down at the grass. Mike followed her gaze down to the wildflower she was twirling between her fingers. He reached down and pulled it out of the ground. El watched as he brushed the dirt off the stem and moved it toward her head. Mike gently tucked the flower into El’s hair, just above her ear.

“Beautiful,” he marveled, and El’s eyes shone as she smiled back at him.

El leaned forward and kissed him, bringing one hand to the back of his neck and weaving her fingers into his hair. As she started to pull away, Mike pulled her closer to him, deepening the kiss, and El melted back into him.

“We should get going,” El murmured against Mike’s lips when they finally separated.

“Yeah,” Mike sighed. He pecked her on the lips one last time before hopping to his feet and extending his hands to pull El up. “This was nice, though. Great idea.”

“I thought so,” El beamed. “Maybe we can do this for lunch once or twice a week the next couple weeks.”

“I’d like that,” Mike agreed.

They grabbed their trash and walked hand-in-hand back through the woods toward their classroom for their final two lessons together.

The afternoon seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, Mike and El were dismissing their campers for the last time. After the kids had gone, Mike and El finished cleaning up their classroom, neither of them wanting to leave, both of them knowing this was the week they would get to spend the most time together, and it was over now. Soon enough, they were sitting in the cafeteria with Dustin, Suzie, and Kayla eating dinner.

“Why the long faces?” Dustin asked in a cheerful tone, sending Mike and El a questioning look.

Mike and El glanced at each other and both tried to perk up. Neither of them had realized they looked sad to their friends.

“It’s nothing,” Mike muttered for the both of them.

“Oh, you two are sad your week together is over,” Dustin realized and his tone became less teasing. “I’m sure Suzie and I will feel the same way after next week.”

“It sounded like you two had a lot of fun working together this week,” Suzie smiled.

“Yeah it did,” Dustin quipped, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively, causing Mike to kick him under the table with a smirk on his face. “Ow! Hey, at least I got you to smile.”

“I don’t know… I guess it’s also because camp is half over now. That’s starting to set in,” Mike admitted, glancing sideways at El who nodded.

“You can’t start thinking about that yet. After the next two weeks, we still have all of cleanup week with no campers. That’s the best part!” Suzie exclaimed.

“It is?” El asked.

“Yeah. They don’t enforce the curfew as strictly, there’s barely any supervision, and there’s another bonfire,” Suzie explained.

“See, your little summer escapade is not over yet, lovebirds,” Dustin teased, and Mike and El both rolled their eyes at him.

“So, you two are together next week. I’m with Eric. Who are you two with?” El asked, looking back and forth between Mike and Kayla.

“I have Tom,” Kayla replied.

“I’m with Dani,” Mike said, and El’s mind involuntarily flashed back to the beginning of camp when she thought Dani had a crush on Mike. She could practically hear Dani’s voice saying Mike was cute and saying hi to him as she bounded down the cabin steps in those high-waisted shorts.

“Good luck,” Dustin said, pulling El out of her thoughts. “You’re gonna need it if Eric ends things with her.”

“I hadn’t even thought of that,” Mike groaned. “Damn it.”

Dustin laughed and Suzie rolled her eyes. The five of them finished their dinner and hung out in the laundry room that evening, playing Uno while the girls did their laundry. They finished up shortly before curfew, and the five of them walked back to the female counselors’ cabin. Kayla went inside while the two couples said goodbye to each other.

“I’m excited to spend the whole day with you tomorrow,” Mike murmured as he pulled El close and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Me too,” El smiled, cupping his cheek and letting her fingertips nestle into his hair while her thumb rubbed over his cheekbone.

“I’ll text you in the morning. First thing,” Mike said.

“Okay,” El nodded. She stood up on her tiptoes to meet his lips with hers.

“Good night,” Mike said softly when El had pulled back.

“Good night,” she returned. 

Mike and Dustin headed back into the woods toward their own cabin, leaving El and Suzie for the night. As soon as they entered the male counselors’ cabin, Mike and Dustin could feel something was off in the atmosphere inside. Suddenly, Jason came storming out of the bathroom, holding his towel and all his toiletry items. He threw them on his bed where an open duffle bag sat. Mike and Dustin exchanged a wide-eyed glance.

“I guess you two know the news,” Jason growled when he saw Mike and Dustin in the doorway.

“What news?” Mike asked, though he had an idea.

“Don’t act like you didn’t help her,” Jason said firmly.

“Help who do what?” Mike asked.

“I got called to the director’s office after dinner tonight. Some bullshit about sexual harassment,” Jason said. “I know you two had something to do with it.”

“Actually, I think the fact that you were sexually harassing someone had something to do with it,” Dustin quipped back, and then flinched when Jason aggressively moved toward him.

“I didn’t harass anyone. It’s not my fault if a bitch wants to get worked up about a compliment,” Jason said. “But that bitch of a director didn’t see it that way. She said she heard the same story from several of my fellow counselors. And I know that means you two and your stupid girlfriends.”

“Hey!” Mike took a step toward Jason, his blood boiling in his veins.

“What I don’t understand,” Tom suddenly interjected, and the three of them turned to look at Tom who was sitting on his bed, “is why you’re so upset about being sent home. Science camp doesn’t exactly seem like your place.”

“I don’t like being accused of shit,” Jason spat, jamming a finger into Mike’s chest to emphasize his point.

Just then, the front door opened again and Eric walked in. He stopped with a surprised look on his face at the scene in front of him.

“What’s going on?” Eric asked, looking between all four of his cabinmates.

“The fucking nerds and their girlfriends teamed up and got me sent home,” Jason said.

“That’s not exactly what happened,” Mike said.

“Oh yeah, I was called down to talk to the director earlier today,” Eric said. “She was asking me if you ever talk about hooking up with the girls or whatever. I said you kind of had a thing with one of them, and you would talk about her sometimes.”

“Well if that’s not the understatement of the year,” Dustin muttered.

“They’re seriously sending you home?” Eric asked, ignoring Dustin.

“Yep. First thing tomorrow morning. I have to be off the property by 9am,” Jason replied. “My old man will be fucking thrilled to have me back three weeks early.”

“Does Nikki know?” Eric asked.

“What does that matter? I’m never gonna see her again,” Jason shrugged.

It seemed that Jason had calmed down since they had entered, so Mike and Dustin walked past Jason and Eric toward their own bunks. Mike rolled his eyes when he heard Jason tell Eric that the best part about being sent home early is that he won’t have to be around all these nerds anymore. Mike and Dustin got ready for bed while Jason finished packing his duffle bag. As soon as Mike crawled into his bed, he pulled out his phone to text El, when he saw he already had a message from her.

Is Jason really being sent home?? Nikki is PISSED.

Mike chuckled and texted her back.

Yeah, he is. How does Nikki know? Jason said he didn’t tell her.

The director told her because this means she has to do the rest of PE with an advisor as her partner. El responded.

Think she’s more upset about that or about losing her hookup buddy? Mike asked.

DEFINITELY the sex lmao. She is so mad at Kayla right now. But Kayla’s happy. And I’m happy because now Kayla won’t be leaving. El texted back.

Yeah. I’m happy for Kayla. I’m so glad this worked out for her. Mike responded.

Me too. Thanks again for helping. El said with the kissy emoji, causing Mike to smile dopily at his phone.

Of course. Mike sent with a smiley emoji.

I’m gonna get some sleep now. Can’t wait to see you tomorrow! came El’s reply with two hearts, which caused Mike’s own heart to pound in his chest.

Me too. Good night babe. He texted back, adding “I love you” in his head, but adding only the kissy emoji to his text.

Mike plugged his phone into his charger and rolled onto his back, staring up at the bottom of Dustin’s bed above him. Jason was leaving; things were going amazingly with El. These next three weeks would be the best yet. He just knew it.

The next morning, El woke up to two text messages. One, from Mike, she was expecting. The other was from her best friend Brandon who she had not spoken to since she left for camp.

Jane. Eleanor. Ives. I need you to come back home. Who ever thought living in Chicago could be this boring?

El laughed at Brandon’s text before typing back, I’m sorry. Just three more weeks until you get to see my face again!

She’s alive!! And speaking of seeing your face, wtf is up with not facetiming me once for the past three weeks?! Brandon responded.

Sorry. Service is shit here. Plus I’ve been busy, you know, molding the minds of the youth. El chuckled as she hit the send button.

Oh, dear God, bless those children. Brandon responded quickly, and El sent only the middle finger emoji as a response.

For real, though, how has camp life been? Has it been as awful as you thought? Brandon asked.

Not at all. I’ve actually made some friends, and… I met someone. El responded and added a blushing emoji.

You WHAT?! Girl. Details. Brandon demanded.

His name is Mike, and he’s amazing. He’s from here in Indiana. He’s like the perfect combination of smart and funny and nerdy, and he’s so cute. And sweet. El explained.

Ooh, am I hearing church bells, or…? Brandon responded.

I’ve only known him for three weeks. El replied simply.

That’s true. Plus he doesn’t have my seal of approval yet. And after last time, that’s a necessity. Brandon said.

I think you’d like him. El said.

We’ll see. Brandon responded with a shrugging emoji.

But I’ll let you get back to camp life. Text me sometime! Love you dahling. Brandon texted before El had even responded to his previous one.

I definitely will! Love you too! El responded.

Then she opened her text from Mike which read simply Good morning beautiful.

Good morning. El texted back with a smiley face.

How did you sleep? Mike asked.

So good. And I’m so ready to see you. El responded with the kissy emoji.

Me too. Wanna have breakfast with Dustin and Suzie first? Mike asked.

Of course! El responded.

Great. Dustin and I will be at your cabin in like 45 minutes. Mike said.

Can’t wait! El sent with the heart emoji.

She dropped her phone onto her chest and sighed contentedly, looking up at the bottom of Suzie’s bed above her.

“Talking to Mike already?” Suzie asked after hopping down from her bed.

“How did you know?” El asked.

“You have that dreamy look on your face. How long did you stay up texting him last night?” Suzie asked, sitting down next to El on her bed as El sat up and leaned her back against her pillow.

“Not too late,” El replied. “Then I woke up to a good morning text from him.”

“You guys are too cute,” Suzie smiled.

“I talked to my best friend from back home about him this morning, too,” El said. “I’ve just been really happy ever since I met him… I don’t know. I just know I love spending time with him.”

“Is that… all you love about him?” Suzie asked with a smirk. “Have you thought any more about what we talked about the other day?”

El sighed. Of course she had. She pretty much felt her feelings confirmed in the lake that night.

“Yes,” El replied.

“And?” Suzie pressed.

“I think I do, Suzie,” El said.

“You think you do what?” Suzie asked, unable to contain the grin on her face.

“You know what,” El said.

“I want you to say it,” Suzie insisted.

“I think… I love him,” El admitted, and Suzie squealed next to her.

“I knew it! I knew it all along. And so did Dustin. You two are so obvious,” Suzie said excitedly.

“It’s just, it’s really fast, so that’s kind of scary… but we’ll be separated in three weeks, and that’s really scary too,” El said.

“I know,” Suzie sympathized. “Have you and Mike talked about that? Like, really talked about it? Your plans for when you go back to Chicago and he goes back to Hawkins?”

“No,” El shook her head. “I don’t think either of us want to be the one to bring it up.”

“That makes sense. But you don’t want to wait too long,” Suzie said. “Long distance can work really well, but you both need to be clear on what your plan is before you leave camp.”

“You’re right,” El nodded. “Mike said he and Dustin will be here in about 45 minutes to meet us for breakfast. Then Mike and I are spending the day together.”

El and Suzie each showered and got dressed and ready for the day. As they were coming out of the bathroom, Kayla was standing at her bed laying clothes out to wear after her shower. Nikki pushed past her, bumping her shoulder harshly and causing Kayla to stumble forward.

“Hey! Watch where you’re going,” Kayla exclaimed.

“I’m sorry I touched you. Are you going to go cry harassment on me too?” Nikki taunted.

“Is this how things are going to be for the next three weeks?” Kayla asked.

“It wouldn’t have to be this way if you didn’t go and get Jason kicked out,” Nikki replied.

“Jason got himself kicked out,” El interjected, and Nikki spun around to face her.

“And now I have to lead phys ed for those kids with a stupid advisor,” Nikki said, annoyed.

“There are worse things that could happen. Like being sexually harassed and groped,” El said curtly. “But if it bothers you that much, I’m sure the director would let you go home early, too.”

Nikki rolled her eyes and scoffed as she walked by El and Suzie to go to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the day.

“Do you want to join us for breakfast?” El offered Kayla.

“No thanks. You guys go on ahead,” Kayla replied.

El and Suzie left the cabin, and a few minutes later, they were joined by Mike and Dustin. The four of them went to the cafeteria for breakfast, and to all of their surprise, they saw Eric and Dani sitting together. Dustin commented that maybe Mike would get lucky and not have to deal with a post-breakup Dani after all. Mike hoped Dustin was right, but he had a feeling that Eric was just biding his time.

After breakfast, the two couples parted ways. Mike and El set off for the hiking trail they had explored a while ago. They hiked through the uneven terrain, holding hands when the trek would allow it, and stopping for water every so often. Finally, they reached the small cliff overlooking the stream that ran through the woods. Mike climbed up first and reached down for El’s hand when she was near the top to help pull her up.

“We made it,” El panted, leaning back against the clifftop and admiring the full green trees and the stream of water coursing below them.

“We did,” Mike sighed, leaning back beside her.

El smiled up at him and scooted closer so she could rest her head on his chest. Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulders and squeezed her against himself, kissing the top of her head. They laid there silently together, enjoying each other’s presence and the warm summer breeze that blew by and rustled the leaves above them. Suddenly, an idea struck El, and she pulled out her phone to see that she had good service.

“Mike,” she said, propping herself up on an elbow and turning to look at him.

“Hmm?” Mike asked, opening his eyes from the state of serenity he had been in.

“I want you to meet someone,” El said, unlocking her phone and pulling up her contacts.

“Who?” Mike asked skeptically as he sat up next to her.

El did not answer, but Mike heard the ringing sound of FaceTime trying to connect with someone, and he wondered who she was calling.

“Ellie! Long time, no talk!” came a male voice that Mike had never heard, but he had an assumption of who it was.

“Hi Brandon!” El exclaimed, confirming Mike’s suspicion.

“Girl, are those trees behind you? Are you calling me from inside the woods right now?” Brandon asked.

“Yeah, we went on a hike,” El replied, shifting her phone around to show the trees and stream behind her.

“Oh, so you’re camping camping, huh?” Brandon laughed before adding, “And what do you mean we? Are you with-”

“Uh huh,” El nodded. She scooted as close to Mike as possible so they were both in the view of the camera. “Brandon, this is Mike. Mike, this is Brandon, my best friend from back home.”

“Nice to meet you,” Mike said politely.

“You too! El has told me so much – well, that’s not true – El has told me a moderate amount about you,” Brandon said, and El laughed and shook her head.

“Brandon texted me this morning to see how camp has been going, and I told him I started seeing someone, and then I told him a little about you,” El clarified to Mike who nodded.

“But you didn’t tell me the two of you would be sneaking off into the woods together,” Brandon teased. “Is this a regular occurrence for you two?”

“Umm, a couple times a week,” El replied playfully, and Mike was surprised she had answered so honestly so easily.

“Ooh, get it,” Brandon laughed, and El immediately blushed.

“Anyway, since you gave me such a hard time about not facetiming you earlier, I wanted to call you and say hi and introduce you to Mike,” she said, changing the subject.

“I’m glad that you did. Mike, have you ever been to Chicago?” Brandon asked.

“I have,” Mike replied. “El has told me I should visit around Christmas time, though.”

“You totally should. If I know El, she probably told you that you should see A Christmas Carol at the Goodman. But if you like Christmas lights, you should spend an evening at Millennium Park – actually, you could do that after the show at the Goodman,” Brandon recommended.

“That sounds like a fun time,” Mike said.

“If Mike comes to visit, we should double-date one night so you can meet him,” El said.

“Duh. I thought that was a given,” Brandon said.

“How is Ethan doing, by the way?” El asked.

“He’s great. He’s working a lot this summer, so I need you to come home so I can have my best friend back,” Brandon replied.

“Three more weeks,” El reminded him, and Mike felt a pang in his chest.

“I can’t wait!” Brandon exclaimed. “Well, I’ll let you two get back to whatever you do all alone in the woods.”

“Shut up,” El laughed as Brandon wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

“Mike, it was so nice to meet you, and I hope I can meet you for real some time,” Brandon said.

“Nice to meet you, too. And I definitely think that can happen,” Mike replied.

“Alright. Have fun, you two, but not too much fun. Love you, Ellie,” Brandon said.

“Love you, too,” El replied before hanging up the phone.

“Well, he seems nice,” Mike said when El dropped her phone back into her pocket.

“He’s a blast,” El said. “I could tell he liked you.”

“So I passed the best friend test?” Mike asked.

“Looks like it,” El laughed.

Mike wrapped his arm around her shoulders again and leaned back against the ground, cradling her against him. El closed her eyes and sighed contentedly against his chest.

“This is nice,” she murmured. “I really love being here with you.”

Mike swallowed hard while his fingers softly rubbed circles on her back.

“I, uh… I love… being with you, too,” he said softly.

El smiled against him and squeezed her arm around his waist before they fell back into a comfortable silence. The only sounds were the sound of their breathing and the leaves in the trees.

“Mike?” El asked softly, not looking up at him from her place on his chest.

“Yeah?” Mike answered.

“What is going to happen when camp is over? When I go back to Chicago and you go back to Hawkins?” El asked, voicing the dreadful thought that had been creeping into Mike’s mind too.

Mike sighed deeply and held her even tighter. He was silent for several moments, and El almost thought he was not going to answer her question.

“We’ll figure it out. We can text and facetime each other. Plus, I bet I can talk my parents into letting me visit you some weekends. I could drive up Friday after school and drive home Sunday night. It would be a long drive, but it would be worth it,” Mike replied.

“It wouldn’t just have to be you making the drive,” El said. “I could talk my aunt into letting me visit Hawkins sometimes.”

“There isn’t nearly as much to do in Hawkins as there is in Chicago,” Mike chuckled.

“Maybe not. But you’ll be there, and so will your family and friends who I want to meet,” El said.

“So, you really think we can make this work long-distance?” Mike asked.

“I really do. Don’t you?” El asked.

“Yeah, I think so,” Mike replied.

“Good,” El smiled, finally looking up at him.

She scooted up so her face was hovering over his, and she leaned down to kiss him deeply. Mike had one hand resting on her lower back and moved the other hand into her hair, tangling his fingers in her soft chestnut locks. El deepened their kiss even more, sliding her tongue in between his lips, and she repositioned herself so she was straddling his hips.

Mike moved both of his hands to El’s hips and gently caressed up and down the curves of her body while he lost himself in the taste of her watermelon chapstick, the scent of her lavender shampoo, the feel of her soft skin against his – 

“El,” he said abruptly against her lips.

“Hmm?” El hummed, opening her eyes and looking into his blown pupils which were filled with lust.

“We… have to stop… You need to move,” Mike said.

“Are you okay?” El asked, and when she began to shift her hips off of his, her cheeks blushed slightly when she felt what the problem was.

“I just don’t want to cross any lines with you. I respect you way too much for that,” Mike admitted, remembering what El had said the last time things had gotten this hot between them.

To Mike’s surprise, El did not move off of him. She repositioned herself on top of him, and he saw a look of mischief fill her eyes as she bit her bottom lip.

“You know, just because I’m not ready for that doesn’t mean we can’t do some other stuff,” El said with a smirk.

“Wait, really?” Mike asked, his eyes widening in anticipation. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” El replied with a nod. 

Mike smiled and pulled El’s lips back down to his, both of them eager to explore the next step in their relationship.

While Mike and El were exploring their intimacy, Dustin and Suzie were coming out of the lake and wrapping themselves in their towels to dry off. Suzie pulled on a pair of shorts, and Dustin pulled on a t-shirt before they packed the rest of their clothes, towels, and sunscreen into Dustin’s drawstring bag.

“What time is it, Suzie-Poo?” Dustin asked.

“3:30,” Suzie replied before tossing her phone into the bag as well.

“Did Mike and El say what time they were going to come back?” Dustin asked.

“I don’t think so. They just said they were going to spend the day together,” Suzie replied.

“Well, they’ve spent all day together. Do you want to go find them and hang out a bit before dinner?” Dustin suggested.

“Sure,” Suzie replied. “They went back to that cliff we found a while back.”

Dustin and Suzie made their way to the hiking trail and set off on their way to the cliff where they knew Mike and El had intended to spend their day.

“Dusty-Bun, has Mike talked to you about concerns about his and El’s relationship once camp is over?” Suzie asked as the two of them trekked through the woods.

“Not in great detail,” Dustin replied. “I know he’s worried about it, though. I just don’t think he wants to think about it much.”

“That’s kind of where El is, too,” Suzie said. “I encouraged her to talk to Mike about it, though. I think they need to be on the same page before camp is over. I know at lunch yesterday we kind of told them not to focus too much on camp ending, but I do think one real conversation about it needs to happen.”

“That would be a good idea. Mike can just get so down on himself and get inside his own head and sabotage things. What Stephanie did to him didn’t exactly help with that, either,” Dustin said.

“I bet not,” Suzie agreed. “I hope they got the chance to talk about it today.”

“They’ve been alone in the woods for over five hours. Something tells me they haven’t done too much talking,” Dustin smirked.

Eventually, Dustin and Suzie came to the bottom of the cliff. They could see that Mike and El were still on top of it, so they climbed carefully to the top as well. When they got to the top, they found Mike laying on his back with his arm around El’s shoulders and El resting her head on Mike’s chest and her arm draped over his waist. They were both asleep. Dustin eyes were then immediately drawn to something laying on the ground a couple feet away from El. It was a light pink bra.

Dustin could not contain the snort of laughter that left his throat, and Suzie swatted his arm as Mike and El both startled awake.

“D-Dustin? What… what are you doing here?” Mike asked sleepily as he tried to focus on his friend.

“Clearly, not having as much fun as you were,” Dustin smirked, tilting his head to the left and making Mike follow his gaze to the bra laying next to them. “Did you wear yourselves out?”

El saw what Dustin was looking at, and her face flushed a hot red in embarrassment as she adjusted her tank top to make sure she was fully covered.

“Shut up, Dustin,” Mike warned.

Suzie pulled Dustin’s drawstring bag off of his arms and quickly slid El’s bra inside it, and El offered her a smile of gratitude.

“We figured we would come find you guys and see what you were up to, maybe hang out a bit before dinner,” Suzie said as she and Dustin took a seat near Mike and El.

“We’ve been up here most of the day,” El said, making eye contact with Suzie and avoiding Dustin. “We actually facetimed my best friend from back home a few hours ago. Then we talked for a while, and eventually I guess we fell asleep. It was nice.”

Suzie nodded and offered a small smile, exchanging a look with El, knowing that El would tell her everything that really happened later.

“So how was meeting the best friend?” Dustin asked.

“It was good. He was pretty cool. I think we’d get along,” Mike replied.

“And then did you facetime your best friend, too? I know you didn’t, because my phone didn’t ring,” Dustin said.

“It wouldn’t have rang anyway because it would’ve been Will,” Mike quipped back. “But no. We did not.”

“We should facetime the party sometime. Make sure Will, Lucas, and Max are all together so El can meet everyone at once,” Dustin suggested.

“We’ll see,” Mike said.

“So is Nikki still being mean to Kayla over the whole Jason thing?” El asked.

“I didn’t really see Nikki much today,” Suzie replied. “I bet she’ll tone it down and just be passive aggressive about it.” El and Suzie both rolled their eyes.

“I think the real question now that we haven’t addressed is how will Eric act now that Jason is gone?” Dustin asked.

“Why is that a question that needs addressed? I thought we agreed Eric is a creep,” Suzie said.

“We did, but for some reason he still hasn’t broken things off with Dani,” Dustin pointed out.

“You think he might have been playing up the douchey jock attitude because of Jason?” Suzie asked.

“Anything is possible,” Dustin replied. “Tom said Eric was a nice guy a few years ago. I’m just wondering if he’ll let that part come out again and things will be smooth sailing for the remaining three weeks.”

“I wouldn’t hold your breath for that,” Mike chuckled.

“Well, I guess El will just have to let us know, since she’ll be working with him all week,” Dustin said.

Mike turned to El and felt a sense of worry pooling in his stomach. He tried to ignore it. El was his girlfriend who was making him happier than anyone ever had before and who he had just reached a new level of intimacy with. She felt the same way. It didn’t matter whether Eric still acted like a jerk or changed his tune and put the nice guy façade back on. Mike had nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.


	12. Chapter 12

El felt her body tense when she looked up and saw Eric enter the classroom. A part of her had been oddly dreading the start of this week. Eric had never really been cruel to her. He had actually seemed nice and welcoming when she had first met him in the check-in line the day they arrived, unlike Jason who made his fowl intentions quite clear from the beginning. But as the weeks had gone on, El had seen and heard more things about Eric that led her to believe that he was just as big of a creep as Jason, he just was not as outward about it.

Still, she offered him a warm smile as he approached the front of the classroom where El was separating the material by lesson. El figured there was no harm in trying to start the week off on the right foot. They had to work together all week, right? Might as well try to get along.

“Good morning,” she said when Eric reached the table in front.

“Morning,” Eric replied with a small nod before glancing down at the papers sprawled over the table.

“I was just organizing by lesson,” El explained. “How do you want to do this?”

“I don’t really have a preference,” Eric shrugged. “Whatever you’re most comfortable with.”

“Would you mind instructing lessons one and two, and I’ll do three and four after break?” El asked, suggesting the same routine that she had followed with Mike the previous week.

“Sounds good to me,” Eric agreed.

“Great,” El smiled.

It looked like Eric was about to say more, but El turned away from him and began addressing the classroom full of new students.

“Good morning! It’s ten o’clock, so if everyone could sit down, we’ll get started,” she said cheerfully.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Eric’s lips were pursed as if he were annoyed that she had cut him off. Oh well. They had to get along well enough to work together; they didn’t have to be friends.

El and Eric each introduced themselves and went around the room so the campers could all introduce themselves as well. 

“Nice shirt, buddy,” Eric said excitedly to an eleven-year-old boy wearing a blue Indianapolis Colts t-shirt. “You like football?”

“Uh huh,” the boy nodded enthusiastically. “I got this shirt when I went to a game with my dad and older brother last year.”

“I bet that was a lot of fun to do together,” Eric said.

“It was,” the boy replied, and then his face fell. “Except now my brother makes fun of me for coming to science camp. He said it’s not cool, and only nerds go to science camp.”

“Well you can tell your brother that your instructor at science camp was a varsity football player,” Eric said smugly.

“You play football?” the boy asked, his eyes widening.

“Well, I’m definitely not talking about Miss El,” Eric quipped.

El turned her head toward him and felt the corners of her mouth tug upward in a grin as several of the campers laughed at Eric’s joke.

“But yes, I play football, and I like science. There’s nothing wrong with that. People aren’t defined by just one thing you know about them,” Eric said pointedly, glancing a few seconds longer at El before turning back toward the boy.

El subtly shook her head before looking back down at the table and picking up the stack of papers for the first lesson of the day. When introductions were complete, she began walking to each table and passing out the packets.

“We’ll be covering four different topics,” she explained as she walked through the classroom. “The first topic is physics, and you’ll be learning about simple machines. After we cover all the different types of simple machines, you will get to put it to use and design and build a balloon-powered car that you will race at the end of the week.”

Excitement murmured through the classroom at the prospect of racing, and when El had finished passing out the material, she walked to the back of the classroom and turned out the lights while Eric prepared to hit start on the PowerPoint.

“But before we get to the fun stuff, Eric has a slideshow for you,” El smiled as the campers groaned.

She smirked as Eric met her gaze briefly before diving into today’s physics lesson.

On the other side of camp, Dustin and Suzie were off to a great start, clearly excited to be working together.

“So you have to bear with us for these first couple days while we show you slideshows, but at the end of the week, one of you will reign victorious when your car dominates those of your competitors,” Dustin said from the front of the classroom where he and Suzie were set up.

“What do we get for winning?” asked a boy in the front row.

“Bragging rights,” Dustin replied.

“Lame,” the boy sighed.

“The satisfaction that you built the sturdiest, fastest, and most resilient car in the class,” Suzie chimed in.

“That’s just a fancy way of saying bragging rights,” the boy said.

“Listen, Charlie – may I call you Charlie?” Dustin began.

“My name’s Carson,” the boy replied, his brow furrowed.

“I knew it started with a C. You look like a Charlie to me,” Dustin shrugged. “So listen, Charlie, we are trying to provide a fun, enthusiastic environment for you little Einsteins to expand your pre-adolescent brains in the world of science. We don’t have trophies or ribbons for you, so if you can’t be happy with the knowledge and experience that you get here this week, then maybe this camp isn’t for you. Got it?”

Carson narrowed his eyes, not breaking contact with Dustin who maintained a firm look on his own face. 

“Got it,” Carson finally relented, looking down at his own table.

“Good. Any more questions before we get started?” Dustin asked, looking around to survey the classroom. All the campers shook their heads.

When Dustin turned back to face Suzie, she was observing him with an amused look on her face.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” Suzie replied, shaking her head, but still trying to hold back her laughter. “Just start the slideshow.”

In Mike and Dani’s classroom, Dani had entered the room that morning with a bubbly attitude and a big smile. Mike was leaning against the table in the front of the classroom, having recently arrived after parting ways with El. 

He was feeling conflicted. On the one hand, he knew his and El’s bond was strong and was only continuing to grow stronger. They had taken a couple big steps over the weekend, physically and emotionally. El had introduced him to her best friend, albeit over FaceTime, and they had talked even more about their plans for after they leave camp. She seemed genuinely excited to come all the way to Hawkins and meet his friends and family and spend time together, even though Mike had explained to her that there was not much to do in Hawkins outside of the movie theatre, the mall, and the arcade. El did not seem to mind. Then there was the physical part that had moved into new territory. After they had explored each other a bit Saturday afternoon, they snuck away to their spot again on Sunday, both unable to resist the temptation. Mike could still feel her soft skin under his fingertips and between his lips, could hear her soft moans and feel her breath against his neck, could feel the electricity shooting through every vein in his body when her gentle fingers touched him so delicately. They hadn’t gone all the way; El was not ready for that. Mike was perfectly content letting El take the lead on how far she was willing to go. He certainly was not one to complain.

Then on the other hand, even though Mike knew things were going well and becoming so intimate, he could not seem to silence those insecurities and dark thoughts that had begun digging their way back inside his mind. He would be back to seeing El only during breakfast, lunch break, and after classes had ended for the day. The rest of the day, El would be with Eric all week. Mike did his best to remind himself that El cared about him, and that El liked him for who he was. He replayed that first night in the lake when he had overcome his insecurities of not looking like Eric or Jason, when he had opened up to El about his self-consciousness. She had been gentle and caring, and she made him feel better about himself. But still, knowing that El was going to be alone with Eric who was conventionally attractive, athletic, and apparently smart… 

But Eric was with Dani. Of course, Mike did not have much faith in that. He was sure that Eric and Dani were by no means soulmates or even in an actual relationship. In fact, Mike continually found himself wondering why he still saw Eric and Dani together when Eric had gotten what he had wanted from Dani over a week ago. Why hadn’t Eric ended things with her yet? Mike was certain it was coming. And then what would stop Eric from going after El? Hell, what would stop him from going after her now? It’s not like Eric struck Mike as the type of guy who cared about Dani’s feelings.

“Good morning, Mike,” Dani smiled as she reached the front of the classroom.

“Good morning,” Mike replied.

He looked at Dani’s face which was brightened by her genuine smile. Her makeup was completed as it was daily, and her eyes radiated happiness. Well, Eric still hadn’t ended things with her.

Mike and Dani introduced themselves to the campers and dove into lesson one.

The rest of the morning passed by rather quickly, as the campers in each of the cabins participated readily enough to keep the classes moving. After cleaning up the dissection of the earthworm, the campers were dismissed for their phys ed and lunch hours. In El and Eric’s classroom, El had just finished wiping down the counter, and she was about to leave for lunch when she heard Eric stop her.

“Hey, El,” he called, and she turned around to face him as he walked toward her. “Before you go, I just wanted to clear the air.”

“What are you talking about?” El asked, curious to see exactly where he was going with this.

“Well, I know when we first met on day one, we seemed to hit it off okay, almost like we could’ve been friends,” Eric explained.

El raised her eyebrows slightly, wondering if it had ever been on Eric’s mind to actually just be friends with her, especially after seeing how quickly he moved in on Dani.

“I know I was hanging out with Jason a lot, and sometimes when I’m around certain types of people, I start to slip into that mentality too, and I know I shouldn’t. I know Jason was a jerk, and if I ever came off poorly to you, I want to apologize,” Eric said. 

El considered his apology. He sounded genuine, and he looked sincere. Of course, he had never really been cruel to her like Jason had been, but he had been friends with Jason. El softened, deciding it would be for the better to forgive him for his behavior and accept that it may have been influenced in part by Jason.

“It’s okay,” she said. “I know how easy it is to be influenced by other people.”

“So, we’re okay? Because I want us to be able to work together – and I know we didn’t have any problems working together, but I don’t want to feel that weird tension between us,” Eric said.

“Yeah, we’re okay,” El replied.

“Cool. I’ll see you after lunch, El,” Eric said before leaving the classroom.

In the cafeteria, Mike and El met up with Dustin and Suzie for lunch. Kayla and Tom walked in a few minutes later, and after getting their lunch they walked over to the table where the other four sat.

“You guys don’t mind if Tom joins us for lunch, do you?” Kayla asked, looking around at the four who she had grown to consider friends.

“Not at all. Pull up a chair,” Dustin replied.

Kayla took a seat next to Suzie, and Tom sat across from her next to El.

“How is your day going so far?” Suzie asked, turning toward Kayla.

“Good! We have a couple mouthy campers, but that’s with any group of kids,” Kayla shrugged, and Suzie nodded her agreement.

“Oh yeah, we know all about that, don’t we?” Suzie turned toward Dustin with an amused grin.

“I have no idea what you are referring to,” Dustin said.

“What did Dustin do?” Mike asked.

“He had a standoff with an eleven-year-old boy,” Suzie replied through a wide smile.

“Did he win?” Mike chuckled, and Dustin glared at him from across the table.

“If you consider winning to be making my point for the appreciation of science, then yes, Michael, I won,” Dustin said.

“And you were so tough, too, Dusty-bun. Standing up to that middle schooler,” Suzie teased, pinching at Dustin’s cheek while their friends laughed and Dustin blushed.

“Alright, alright. You all laugh, but sometimes they need to be put in their place,” Dustin insisted.

“Sure, Dustin,” Mike smirked.

“And how about you? How are things going with Dani? Has the ceiling come falling down yet?” Dustin asked, turning things around on Mike.

“Actually, no, they haven’t,” Mike replied, looking over at a table along the opposite wall where Dani and Eric sat eating lunch. “And, I mean, things have been fine. She’s a nice girl.”

“El, how is working with Eric going?” Suzie asked.

“Surprisingly well,” El replied, and Mike turned to look at her. “He’s weirdly pretty good with the campers, and he seems to enjoy the stuff we’re teaching.”

“He always did like science,” Tom said. “He kept acting like he was only here because his parents thought it would look good for colleges, but I think he still enjoys it like he did when we were younger… Even if he is a jerk now.”

“I was worried about working with him, but he actually seems to be an okay guy now,” El said carefully, and she felt Mike tense up beside her. “I mean, I obviously don’t fully trust it, but he apologized to me and said he didn’t mean to come off negatively, but being around people like Jason pull that side out of him.”

“If being around certain people bring that side out, that still means that side is there in the first place,” Suzie pointed out.

“No, I know,” El said. “I’m not saying I’m going to be friends with him. I’m just glad that he and I will be able to work together this week. I was hoping we would be able to get along well enough for that.”

El glanced over at Mike who was looking down at his plate on the table. She reached over and rested her hand on his leg under the table, and Mike offered a small smile and placed his hand on top of her hand.

After lunch, Mike and El separated from their friends and decided to go for a walk. They walked until they reached the large grassy area in front of the admin building, and they sat next to each other on a bench along the edge of the woods. It was a beautiful day; the sun was shining through the trees, and it was warm but not disgustingly hot.

El turned sideways on the bench, draping her legs over Mike’s and resting her arm behind him, reaching her fingers up to twirl strands of his hair gently.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“What do you mean?” Mike asked.

“You seemed… off… toward the end of lunch,” El replied.

She had felt him tense up when she began talking about Eric, and she noticed how he wasn’t even looking at her toward the end. They were small signs, but they were there.

“I don’t know,” Mike sighed, and El waited patiently for him to continue. “I’m glad that you’re getting along with Eric, I guess. I mean, I didn’t want this week to be bad or uncomfortable for you.”

“But…?” El encouraged him to continue when he paused.

“But I still don’t trust him, El,” Mike admitted.

“Well, do you trust me?” El asked.

“Of course,” Mike replied.

“Then what’s the problem?” El asked, and Mike sighed, unsure of how to explain how he felt.

He looked into her hazel eyes which were staring at him so soft and sincerely. He was being stupid. Mike knew he was the only person El looked at like that. He was the only person she had opened up to the way she had. Their connection was real, and their relationship was strong. Mike was not going to let his insecurities win and screw things up.

“There is no problem,” Mike said, forcing a smile.

So what if she was working with another guy? El had shown him numerous times that she truly cares about him. Of course, Mike had thought Stephanie truly cared about him, too. And maybe she had, until she met Troy. Then things changed because she was able to be with someone better.

No, Mike pushed that thought as far away from his mind as he could. El was not like that. Thinking about Stephanie cheating on him was only going to work him up, and Mike knew that. This was different; his relationship with El was already more meaningful than his relationship with Stephanie had been. Mike was not going to get inside his own head and let himself destroy it.

“Are you sure? If there is a problem, I want to talk about it,” El asked again.

“I’m sure. There is no problem,” Mike repeated.

“Okay,” El gave in, not wanting to push him any further, but not entirely convinced that he wasn’t still bothered.

El stopped playing with the strands of Mike’s hair and wove her fingers into it, pulling his head toward hers so she could gently meet his lips with her own. She kissed him slowly, hoping to reassure him without words that whatever may still be bothering him would be okay. Mike returned the kiss, tracing his fingers up the soft skin of El’s legs that were draped over him until he reached the bottom hem of her denim shorts.

“You know, we still have some time,” El whispered against Mike’s lips when they pulled back.

Mike grinned and nodded, and then El stood from his lap and pulled him by the hand into the woods behind the bench. They only made it a few feet into the trees before El turned to face Mike and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into another deep kiss.

Soon, Mike was on the ground, his back leaning against a tree while El was on top of him, straddling his hips and pressing their bodies closely together. She felt his hands on her waist slip underneath her shirt, and his warm fingers traced back and forth on the skin of her lower back along the waistband of her shorts.

El trailed her kisses from Mike’s mouth down his jaw and settled on a spot on his neck, sucking and nibbling on his skin. She felt his grip on her tighten when he sharply inhaled, and it encouraged El to keep going, shifting her hips against his instinctively.

Mike began to push El’s shirt further up her stomach, and El’s lips finally pulled back from Mike’s neck so her shirt could come over her head. Mike gazed at the girl in his lap. The sunlight coming through the trees shining off her chestnut hair, the pupils of her hazel orbs blown as she looked at him through half-lidded eyes, her lips red and swollen from kissing him, the tan skin of her chest and stomach separated only by the thin fabric of the blue bra that she wore.

“You’re so beautiful,” Mike sighed, marveling at every inch of her.

El smiled and blushed. Even though he told her she was beautiful every day, El still felt butterflies in her stomach each time as if it were the first time.

She wordlessly moved back in to kiss him again, and Mike and El quickly melted into each other, making the most of the rest of their break.

When their break was over and Mike and El had each returned to their respective classrooms, Mike had completely forgotten the insecurities that had crept inside his mind. El had a way of putting his mind at ease; it was one of the many things he loved about her. 

Mike rejoined Dani, and when the campers were all seated and ready to begin, they started lesson three which was about biomes. The campers quietly watched the PowerPoint, and afterward, Dani began lesson four and led the campers through the beginning steps of creating their crystals.

In almost no time at all, the fourth lesson was coming to a close. When the campers finished cleaning up their area, Dani asked if they had any questions. Soon after, the campers were dismissed, and Mike and Dani finished cleaning up their area and making sure the material was in order for the next day.

“Are we about finished here? I’m meeting up with Eric before dinner,” Dani said through her ear-to-ear smile.

“Yeah, I think so,” Mike said. “You can go ahead and go if you want.”

“He’s just so wonderful,” Dani sighed, leaning against the table with a dreamy expression on her face.

“Eric?” Mike asked, knowing the answer.

“Of course, silly,” Dani laughed. “He’s so sweet and caring… Mike, you share a cabin with him. Does he ever talk about me?”

Mike thought back to the things he had heard Eric saying to Jason about Dani. Nearly all of it pertained to getting Dani to agree to have sex with him and how he was going to let Jason have “his turn” with her afterward. Mike decided it would be better to keep that to himself rather than tell Dani and have her either not believe him or break her heart… Neither would bode well for Mike for the rest of the week. Plus, Jason was gone, so it wasn’t like that part was even relevant anymore.

“Uh, you know, I don’t really talk to Eric much,” Mike replied, deciding that he wasn’t really lying to her.

“Oh,” Dani said, her smile falling a bit.

“But, I mean, if he makes you feel that good, then-”

“He does,” Dani gushed.

“Well, that’s great,” Mike said. “I, uh… I hope things work out.”

He meant it, to a degree. Of course, Mike didn’t really care about Eric or Dani’s love lives, but he hoped that as long as Eric was focused on Dani, he would keep his sights off of El. Mike shook the thoughts out of his head again before his insecurities had time to fill his mind like they had earlier.

That night after walking El back to her cabin, Mike was in the male counselors’ cabin getting ready to go to bed. While he was brushing his teeth in the large bathroom, Eric came in and started brushing his teeth in the sink next to Mike.

“Hey, are you still seeing El?” Eric asked casually as he squirted some toothpaste onto the bristles of his toothbrush.

“Yes,” Mike replied, his body completely tensed up. “Why?”

“Just curious,” Eric shrugged, that same casual tone in his voice. “I’m working with her this week.”

“I know. She mentioned that,” Mike said shortly, rinsing off his toothbrush and placing it back in its holder.

“She did?” Eric asked, his eyebrows raising.

“Yeah, and she knows I’m working with Dani. You’re still seeing Dani, right?” Mike asked, and Eric sighed.

“Dani and I have… been having a nice time together,” Eric replied. “But you and El, is that more of a casual thing or a serious thing?”

“It’s really not your business how serious El and I are. You just need to know she’s not available,” Mike said steadily, focusing on remaining calm.

“Hey, I’m just making conversation,” Eric feigned innocence and raised his hands up in surrender. “I’m sure you two are happy together. She’s a sweet girl.”

“Yeah, she is,” Mike said, watching as Eric finished up and put his toothbrush away.

“Well, good talk,” Eric said, clapping Mike on the shoulder with a smug smile before leaving the bathroom.

Mike left the bathroom after him and crawled into his bottom bunk, his heart racing as he reached for his phone. He quickly typed a message to El and hit send.

Good night beautiful. I loved spending time with you today, and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow. Sleep tight.

Aww, thanks Mike. I loved spending time with you too. Good night, see you tomorrow. El replied with a heart emoji at the end of her text.

Mike simply replied with a heart emoji of his own and then dropped his phone onto his chest, staring up at the bottom of Dustin’s bed above him, steadying his breathing and waiting for his heartrate to return to normal.

Eric was up to something, Mike was sure of it. Should he say something to El? Would that upset her? Mike didn’t want El to think he didn’t trust her. Surely, if Eric tried something, El would reject him and tell Mike about it, right? Of course she would. Mike closed his eyes and eventually fell into a restless sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

Classes the next day went smoothly for the most part. El was cordial with Eric but still did her best to keep a partial wall up, not fully trusting him and wanting to be mindful of Mike who had seemed uncomfortable with the idea of El and Eric working together. Of course, El had done her best to reassure Mike that she just wanted to be able to get along with Eric well enough for the sake of her sanity and the campers in her classroom. She tried to be understanding of Mike’s feelings, but if El were being honest, it was starting to bother her that Mike seemingly didn’t trust her enough to stop worrying about her working with Eric a few hours each day.

El couldn’t pretend not to notice that Eric was increasingly friendly with her. He greeted her with a smile when she entered the classroom in the morning and after lunch; he asked how her night was and how her day was going; this morning he even told her she looked nice. El had politely thanked him and begun the day. Her mind did toy with the possibility that Eric’s previous rude behaviors could have actually been magnified by Jason and that now that that influence was gone, Eric was behaving milder as he normally would. It wasn’t beyond the realm of possibility; El had seen firsthand how poorly people at school were willing to treat her once Aaron decided she deserved it, and El knew those people had always been nice to her previously.

But still, El had no interest in Eric as anything more than an acquaintance, and if he ever made a move to try and become more than that, El knew she would put her foot down to stop it. She was happy with Mike. She loved Mike, even if the idea of admitting that to his face still made the swarm of butterflies in her stomach go crazy. El was not going to compromise her relationship with Mike, and she wanted to get through the rest of this week with as little conflict as possible. That included keeping Mike’s mind at ease, so El had decided not to tell him every little thing about her interactions with Eric. Why should she risk upsetting him when she knew there was nothing going on?

That was what El reminded herself of in the cafeteria after classes had ended that day as she, Mike, Dustin, Suzie, Kayla, and Tom sat around their table discussing their day.

“This is literally the fastest week yet,” Dustin said. “Day two is already done. We only have three more days together.”

“I know,” Suzie said sympathetically. “But we knew this would happen. Remember how Mike and El felt last week.”

“Yeah, it’s rough. It’s like it was the best week, but every day I dreaded it ending even more,” Mike explained, and El smiled next to him and placed her hand on his leg under the table.

“Are you sure you weren’t just dreading having Dani up next?” Dustin smirked.

“No,” Mike chuckled. “She actually hasn’t been bad at all. I mean, all she talks about is Eric, so that can be nauseating. But overall, it’s been okay.”

El smiled and breathed out a small sigh of relief.

“Well, maybe Eric is going to surprise us all and not break her heart. Then you won’t have to deal with the aftermath,” Dustin said.

“Maybe he will,” El added. “He really does seem a lot nicer now that he doesn’t have Jason around. Maybe Tom was right, and he’s still a good guy on the inside.”

As soon as she said it, she wished she hadn’t. El heard the deep breath that Mike took and saw his jaw clench as he looked down at the table. She rubbed her hand up and down where it was rested on his leg, but he did not look over at her.

Dustin must have noticed what was going on because he changed the subject to how Tom and Kayla’s day went.

Mike had stopped listening. He was focusing on keeping his cool. He didn’t want to appear as the jealous, controlling boyfriend, but he knew Eric was up to something, and it seemed like El was buying into the “nice guy” bullshit. How was he supposed to make it through the rest of the week without going crazy or screwing things up with El?

“Can we go outside and talk?” El said quietly against his ear, and Mike simply nodded.

They stood and walked outside the cafeteria. Mike took a deep breath the second the fresh warm air hit his face. He saw El watching him from the corner of his eye, and he knew what was coming. He also knew he only had a matter of seconds to figure out what he was going to tell her.

“Mike,” El said gently, but Mike heard the firm undertone. “I don’t want this tension between us all week every time I talk about my day.”

“I know,” Mike sighed. “Neither do I… I’m just worried.”

“About what?” El asked.

“About…” Mike paused to think, his head was spinning with jumbled words and he was trying to pick the best ones. “Obviously about Eric. I just feel like he’s going to try something. I don’t buy that he’s suddenly a great guy now that Jason’s gone. I think he knows how to act like a nice guy, and that’s what he’s doing with you, and it looks like you’re-”

El’s eyes widened when Mike abruptly stopped himself.

“It looks like I’m what, Mike? Falling for it?” El asked, a harshness coming into her tone that Mike had never heard directed toward himself before.

“Look, El, Eric isn’t stupid. He knows how sweet you are. I just think he might be trying to appeal to that,” Mike explained. “He’s got you to himself every day, and I mean, look at you. You’re beautiful and smart and just… any guy would want you.”

“But I don’t want them, Mike,” El said, exasperatedly emphasizing every word. “I don’t want to be with Eric or anyone else. I want to be with you. Don’t you realize that by now? Haven’t I told you that – shown you that – enough by now?”

Mike closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair while he took in a deep breath to try and calm his heartrate. 

“You have,” he said quietly, opening his eyes to see El looking up at him with almost a pained look her on face. “You really have. He just… I let him get to me last night.”

“What happened?” El asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

“He was asking me if you and I were still together and how serious we were,” Mike said. “I told him yes, we’re still together, and that it doesn’t matter how serious we are because you’re not available. He acted innocent and claimed he was just making conversation.”

“Maybe he was,” El suggested.

“That’s not the type of conversation guys just have,” Mike said. “I can’t really explain it, but it just felt like he was up to something. Like he was trying to get in my head.”

“Well, whether he was trying to or not, it looks like he did,” El said gently. “Mike, I am not interested in Eric, okay?”

“I know that you say that, and I believe that you mean it, but how can I just trust that he doesn’t try anything?” Mike asked.

“You can’t,” El replied honestly. “But you need to trust that if he does try anything, I will turn him down.”

Mike thought about what El said, and eventually he nodded his head.

“Mike, this isn’t going to work if we aren’t able to trust each other, and I really want this to work,” El said.

“So do I,” Mike agreed. “I’m sorry, El.”

“It’s okay,” El said with a small smile before stepping up on her tiptoes to kiss him. “Since we’re being honest, I was relieved when you said all Dani talks about is Eric.”

“Why?” Mike asked, confused.

“Well, I kept remembering how she was trying to get your attention during the first week and she said she thought you were cute,” El explained. “It was just a relief to hear that she’s focusing on Eric and not you.”

“Seriously? You were worried about me and Dani?” Mike asked in surprise. “El, you don’t ever have to worry about me being interested in someone else when I have you. You’re perfect.”

“And that’s exactly how I feel, too. So can we please just make it through the rest of this week?” El asked.

“Yes,” Mike smiled and kissed her forehead, hugging her tightly.

The next morning, Mike walked with El all the way to her classroom. Before leaving, he wrapped his arms around her waist and gave her a kiss on the lips. When El turned to enter the classroom, she met Eric’s eyes, and Eric quickly looked down at the table in front of him. El walked swiftly to the front to join him.

“Morning,” she greeted shortly.

“Good morning,” Eric replied as cheerful as ever. “How was your night?”

“It was good,” El replied offhandedly, picking up the packets for the first lesson.

“You look great today,” Eric said, glancing up and down.

El pursed her lips but did not respond. She began passing out the material to begin the day’s lesson, and she told herself she only had to get through a couple more days.

In Mike and Dani’s classroom, Mike watched as Dani talked with one of the campers about his ideas for building his car. Dani seemed so happy and genuine, and Mike couldn’t help but feel a pit of guilt start to grow in his stomach. He knew how much Dani liked Eric; she was head over heels for the jerk. He also knew how little Eric cared about her.

Mike weighed the options in his head. He could stay out of it, let things play out, let Eric show her what an ass he is himself. Or, he could be honest with her and tell her what he knows. Either way, Mike knew he would likely find himself in new drama that he did not ask for. But, he really did think Dani was a good person who did not deserve what Eric was doing and saying behind her back. Especially after the conversation that Mike and Eric had in the bathroom where Eric referred to his seeing Dani as just having a nice time together, Mike was certain Dani’s feelings were not reciprocated.

Was it his place to get involved? Probably not. But Mike knew that the last month of his relationship with Stephanie, she was seeing someone else behind his back, which made him feel even worse when things actually ended. He wished someone would have told him what they knew.

Mike let out a long, frustrated sigh and said goodbye to the idea of having a peaceful remainder of the week.

The minutes seemed to drag on while Mike thought about the talk he was going to have with Dani. But eventually, the campers were cleaning up after the frog dissection, and it was almost time for break. After the campers all left the classroom, Mike knew it was time.

“Have a good lunch, Mike. I’m going to go meet up with Eric,” Dani said through her smile with a wave.

“Uh, Dani, hang on a second,” Mike called her back.

“What’s up?” she asked, furrowing her brow and walking back to the front of the classroom where Mike was.

“Look, there’s something that I think I should tell you,” Mike started. “I know it might not be my place to get involved, but I just think you deserve to know.”

“Know what?” Dani asked curiously, and Mike let out a long sigh.

“I wasn’t completely honest with you on Monday when you asked me if Eric ever talks about you in the cabin,” Mike said.

“Really? What does he say?” Dani asked, perking up.

“He…” Mike let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “There’s really no good way to say it.”

“Say what?” Dani asked, fear entering her voice as she picked up on Mike’s body language.

“Look, I know you really like him, but I just don’t think he feels the same way,” Mike blurted out. Dani stared at him, her mouth dropped open at a loss for words.

“W-what? No, of course he does,” Dani said. “Why would you say that?”

“He and Jason talked a lot about hooking up with all of you girls,” Mike said. “Jason’s goal was to have sex with Nikki by the end of the first week, and he did. He kept asking Eric how far he was getting with you… and Eric kept saying he was getting close and that you would be giving it up soon.”

Mike studied Dani’s face. It looked like she had been hit in the stomach. Her eyes lost their shine as she looked down at the floor, and short rapid breaths started coming out of her open mouth.

“Was there anything else?” she asked.

Mike didn’t answer. Of course there was, but could she handle it?

“Mike,” Dani snapped.

“He told Jason that after he had sex with you, Jason could have his turn. But Jason started going after Kayla and then got kicked out,” Mike said. “Eric talked to me on Monday night. He said that you and him have been having a nice time together when I asked if he was still seeing you… I’m sorry, Dani. I just don’t think he likes you the way you like him… And I felt bad about keeping it from you, but I wanted to tell you now because I think he’s going to try and make a move on El-”

“Wait, aren’t you dating El?” Dani asked.

“Yeah,” Mike nodded.

Dani was quiet as she processed what Mike told her. He watched as the shock slowly became anger, and she immediately turned on her heel and stormed toward the door.

“Where are you going?” Mike asked.

“To see for myself,” Dani replied. “Someone’s lying to me, and I need to see if it’s you or him.”

Before Mike could say another word, Dani was gone.

Over in El and Eric’s classroom, they had just dismissed their campers and were cleaning up the last bits of their area before heading to lunch.

“You know, you’re really good with them. The campers,” Eric said while thumbing through the packets for lesson three. “Do you have any little brothers or sisters?”

“No,” El answered simply.

“Hmm. Well, you just must be good with kids,” Eric shrugged. “And they seem to get along great with you, too. But why wouldn’t they? You’re really smart and funny.”

“What are you trying to accomplish here?” El asked, rounding on him and crossing her arms over her chest.

“I’m not trying to accomplish anything,” Eric said innocently. “I’m just paying you a compliment. It’s not very often you meet a girl who is smart, has a great personality, and is as pretty as you are.”

“Well, you’ve met Dani,” El stated.

“I have,” Eric nodded, stepping closer to El. “And she’s so needy. What I like about you is how independent you are, like you wouldn’t beg for a guy’s attention. Girls who throw themselves at you, that’s easy. But there’s something attractive about a strong, confident girl like you.”

“I’m dating Mike,” El said firmly.

Eric was standing directly in front of El, and El was backed up against the table, unable to go any further.

“Dating? Don’t you want to have some fun? Explore your options?” Eric asked lowly, placing his hands on the table on either side of El, encompassing her.

“I’m happy with Mike. I’m not interested,” El said firmly, looking directly into Eric’s eyes as he loomed over her.

“I’m sure he makes you as happy as he can,” Eric was saying as he leaned in to whisper something in El’s ear.

Outside, Dani was approaching El and Eric’s classroom. A few feet from the front door, she looked through the window, and her stomach dropped. She saw Eric pressed closely against El, his arms on either side of her resting on the table, and his face was in her neck… was he kissing her? Whispering something to her? It didn’t matter. Dani’s chest tightened as she was hit with a whirlwind of emotions: rage, pain, confusion. She felt tears begin to well up in her eyes, and she stormed back into the woods, determined not to let Eric or El see her break down.

Back inside the classroom, El placed her hands on Eric’s shoulders and pushed him backward until he was an arm’s length away from her.

“I said I’m not interested,” she repeated herself firmly. “I’m happy with Mike. I want to be able to get along enough to work together for the next two days, and that’s it. You would think after just seeing Jason get sent home for harassment, you’d be a little more careful.”

“Hey, I’m not harassing anyone,” Eric said, his tone of voice changing as he lifted his hands in surrender. “I’m just letting you know that if your situation changes, and you are interested in getting to know each other a little better, let me know.”

“My situation won’t be changing, and I won’t be interested,” El said.

“We’ll see. Have a good lunch, El,” Eric said with a grin as he walked by her and out of the classroom.

Less than ten minutes later, El was sitting in the cafeteria with her friends, eating lunch. Dustin and Suzie were talking about one of the campers’ reactions to the frog dissection, but El was not paying attention. She was sitting closer to Mike than normal, so close that her leg was touching his, and she was bouncing her other leg anxiously while she stared at her food.

“El, are you okay?” Mike asked her softly, startling her, and El looked up at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied, forcing a smile.

“So, looks like he may have finally dumped her,” Dustin observed, gesturing across the room to where Eric sat alone at a table. Dani was nowhere to be seen.

“Is Dani even here?” Suzie asked, looking around the cafeteria and not seeing her.

“I know she was really upset when she left our classroom,” Mike said.

“Why? What happened?” El asked, turning toward him.

“I told her that I wasn’t completely honest with her the other day,” Mike replied. “And I told her that I don’t think Eric likes her as much as she likes him, and I told her some of the things he has said about her in the cabin.”

“Oh, shit,” Dustin muttered.

“She left the classroom really upset. I thought she was going to confront him,” Mike said. “El, did she show up at your classroom?”

“Not that I saw,” El shook her head.

“Have fun with that, Mike. I’m pretty sure you just ruined the rest of your week,” Dustin said.

“I think you did the right thing in telling her,” Suzie said.

“Yeah, she deserved to know,” El agreed and chose to keep to herself that Eric had hit on her just before leaving for break.

Did he run into Dani afterward and end things with her? Is that why Dani was gone? Was he going to keep pushing El like he did today?

She looked over at Mike. He hadn’t acted insecure at all today, and she hadn’t felt any tension between them since their talk yesterday. Surely, the only thing telling Mike would do was bring his insecurities back into the forefront, so El decided he didn’t need to know. Not yet, anyway. After all, Eric had hit on her, and she turned him down. Just like she had promised Mike she would. If anything more happened, then sure, she could understand telling Mike. But right now, El didn’t see the point in upsetting him.

After lunch was over, Mike walked with El back to her classroom, hand-in-hand. They stopped next to the front door, and El turned to face him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling his lips down to hers.

“I’ll see you in a couple hours,” El said.

“Okay, babe. Have a good afternoon,” Mike said before kissing her forehead.

“You too,” El smiled up at him, and then added with concern, “I hope Dani’s okay.”

“Me too, for my sake,” Mike chuckled.

El told him goodbye and walked into the classroom. Eric joined her a few minutes later, and she greeted him wordlessly with a nod, which Eric reciprocated. El took a deep breath, told herself that after today she would only be with him for two more days, and began passing out the materials for lesson three.

When Mike arrived back at his classroom, he was surprised to see Dani already inside, sitting at the front table. As Mike got closer, he noticed her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he sat next to her, his brow furrowed in concern.

“Dani, what’s wrong? What happened?” he asked with a sinking feeling that she had confronted Eric and he had told her that he didn’t want anything serious, ending what Dani had thought could be something real.

“You were right,” Dani croaked.

“You talked to Eric?” Mike asked sympathetically.

“No,” Dani shook her head, and Mike scrunched his forehead in confusion.

“Then how do you know?” he asked, sure that Dani wouldn’t have decided to simply believe what Mike had told her.

Dani looked up at him, and Mike swore he saw pity in her eyes. She offered him a small smile and shook her head.

“We need to start the next lesson,” she sniffled. “But we can talk after class.”

Mike agreed, and the two of them stood and began lesson three. Dani was able to keep herself together and focus on the material for the class, but Mike found himself distracted numerous times. There was something about the way Dani had looked at him when he had asked how Dani knew he was right about Eric. But what was it? How could he have seen pity in her eyes? Why would Dani be pitying him?

That afternoon drug on longer than any day of camp had thus far, but finally, the campers were leaving, and Mike and Dani were alone in the classroom. He felt nervous as she sat down and pulled out the chair next to her, waiting for him to join her.

“Okay, so what happened?” Mike asked.

“I know you were right because I saw him,” Dani replied. “I saw him… with El.”

“Wha-what do you… what do you mean you saw him with El? Like, saw them in their classroom? They’re partners this week,” Mike rambled as Dani was shaking her head.

“I went there, to their classroom, at the start of break. I saw them, but they didn’t see me,” Dani said. “He had her pressed up against the edge of one of the tables… and it looked like he was kissing her neck. I’m sorry, Mike.”

Mike’s ears started ringing, and he only distantly heard Dani say his name. He felt his stomach churning and his heart pounding in his chest, and Mike swallowed hard and started shaking his head.

“No, Dani, I don’t know what you think you saw, but El wouldn’t do that,” he said. “She doesn’t want to be with him.”

“I saw it with my own eyes, Mike,” Dani said. “I’m going to confront Eric about it tonight, and I thought you should know.”

Dani waited another moment for Mike to process what she had said, but he continued staring blankly ahead, slightly shaking his head. Dani reached forward and placed her hand on his, startling him, and Mike turned to look at her.

“I really am sorry, Mike. But you deserved to know,” she said.

Then, Dani got up and walked out of the classroom, leaving Mike alone.

His thoughts were racing. It couldn’t be true; it just couldn’t. Not after everything he and El had been through and shared with each other. Not after she promised him yesterday that he was the only one she wanted, that she had no interest in Eric or anyone else other than him. 

But isn’t that what someone says when they want to hide their real intentions? Didn’t Stephanie laugh, shake her head, and tell him he was crazy when he said he didn’t like how the guys on the football team were looking at her in her new cheerleading uniform? Didn’t Stephanie tell him that she would be stupid to throw away their two-year relationship and that he was the only one she wanted to be with? Didn’t Stephanie tell him that she loved him and he had nothing to worry about? Of course El wouldn’t openly say she was interested in Eric.

Then again, Mike had just told Dani bad news about herself and Eric. Dani was pissed. Could Dani have imagined seeing something that didn’t happen? Or worse, was Dani vindictive enough to make up a story to hurt Mike to get back at him for hurting her with what he told her? Could it all be a misunderstanding or a blatant lie?

Mike didn’t know, and he couldn’t outright ask El about it. Not after yesterday when she had specifically said they would not work if they couldn’t trust each other. Asking her about it was out of the question. He had to get her to tell him herself.

During dinner, Mike was unusually quiet. El noticed and wondered what could have happened in the couple short hours since she told him goodbye outside her classroom. When El asked about Dani, Mike simply said that she showed up but was still upset about what he had told her. El did not push the issue any further.

After dinner, Mike and El took a walk down to the lake and sat next to each other on a rock overlooking the rippling water below. El looked at him for a long time, wondering what was on his mind. She hoped he wasn’t feeling self-conscious again for some reason; El wasn’t sure what could have happened to make him feel that way, but she knew that it was something he constantly struggled with. 

“Mike, is everything okay?” she asked carefully.

He sighed but didn’t answer the question. He looked out over the water and decided that he needed to get her to tell him if anything had happened.

“How was the rest of your day?” Mike asked, but El could tell there was no happy emotion in his voice.

“It was okay,” she replied. “How was yours? Did something happen?”

Mike shook his head.

“No, nothing happened,” he replied softly. “Did something happen with you?”

When he turned to look at her, there was emotion in his eyes that El could not place, but she could tell he looked desperate.

“Nothing out of the ordinary,” she replied. “We did the last two lessons, the kids were good, we cleaned up.” She shrugged.

“How are you and Eric? Still getting along alright?” Mike asked.

“Yeah, I think we’ll be okay for the rest of the week,” El replied.

“That’s good. I was just wondering because you hardly mentioned him today,” Mike said, and El sensed suspicion on his tone.

“Did you want me to talk more about him?” she asked, furrowing her brow.

“It’s just that all week you’ve kept mentioning how he’s such a nice guy now-” Mike cut himself off, feeling his heart begin to rise into his throat.

“He’s still being nice. He’s being friendly,” El said slowly.

“Too friendly?” Mike couldn’t help himself.

“Mike, what is going on?” El asked. “Please, we just had this talk yesterday. He gets a little friendly, I remind him I’m not interested, and we move on.”

“So he has gotten a little too friendly with you?” Mike asked. “What happened?”

“Mike, nothing happened,” El insisted. “I told him no, just like I said I would.”

Mike nodded and looked down at the lake again. He wanted to believe her. He wanted more than anything to believe what El was saying, that nothing happened, that she turned Eric down. But something was nagging inside Mike’s mind telling him that there was more to the story.

“Mike, I need you to trust me,” El said softly, scooting closer to him.

He looked at her, and she was looking up at him with her big doe eyes, pleading with him to believe her. 

El was holding her breath, wishing with all her might that she could silence every insecurity in him and make him see himself the way she sees him. She didn’t know what had triggered this self-conscious behavior today, but she wanted to fix it.

“I know,” Mike replied softly.

“Hey, why don’t we sneak out tonight? Meet at our spot, lay in each other’s arms under the stars,” El suggested gently, linking her arm through his and running her other hand through his hair.

Mike looked at her. She was as beautiful as ever. He felt his walls begin building up again, and he began to shake his head.

“Not tonight,” he said. “I didn’t sleep well last night, so I’m pretty tired.”

“Oh. Okay,” El said, unable to hide her disappointment. “Another time then.”

Nothing felt right. When Mike walked to back to her cabin, when she wrapped her arms around his neck to kiss him, and even when their lips met, El felt like there was something between them all of a sudden, and she didn’t know what it was. 

That night, as she laid in her bed, she pulled out her phone and decided to text Mike.

Hey Mike. I really don’t know what happened today, but I hope you’re okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, and you have nothing to worry about. Like I told you yesterday, and like I’ll tell you every day, you are the only person I want to be with. Please don’t forget that. Good night, sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow. El added three heart emojis to the end of her text and hit send.

She laid on her back, staring at the bottom of Suzie’s bed above her, and waited for a reply from Mike. El was not sure how long she waited, but eventually, she fell asleep with her phone still in her hand.


	14. Chapter 14

Hey Mike. I really don’t know what happened today, but I hope you’re okay. You know you can talk to me about anything, and you have nothing to worry about. Like I told you yesterday, and like I’ll tell you every day, you are the only person I want to be with. Please don’t forget that. Good night, sleep well, and I’ll see you tomorrow.

Mike read the text message again the next morning, and then again and again. He had read it as soon as he received it last night when he was laying in bed, but he didn’t know what to say, so he didn’t respond. What was he supposed to say? That he was okay? He wasn’t, and El knew that. She wasn’t stupid. Mike supposed at the very least, he could have said good night, and he was sure that by not responding at all he was only pushing El further away, which was not what he wanted.

What Mike wanted was for everything to be how it was a week ago. He and El were happy, and he had really thought that nothing was going to change that. How quickly they had gone from comfortable silences, making plans for after camp, and meeting her best friend to tension, unanswered text messages, and uncertainty. And why? Because of Eric? Because of Mike’s stupid subconscious telling him that it is finally happening; El is finally seeing that there is someone better for her? Because of what Dani told him; a claim that has still not been proven?

He read the text again.

You know you can talk to me about anything stuck out to him. He read those words over and over.

Mike had said those words countless times to her. It was one of the first things he had noticed about her in the beginning. El had been so easy to talk to; he had completely opened up to her about his family, his insecurities, and his breakup with Stephanie. He really had thought he could talk to her about anything. But now, it seemed like any time he tried to talk about this – what he was feeling right now – it all went wrong. They ended up at the same location; El reminding him that he needs to trust her. Mike hated upsetting her, so how could he talk to her about what he was feeling? Especially when it didn’t seem to be resolving anything. 

He swallowed down the lump that had formed in his throat and ran a hand through his hair. How was this falling apart? He had been so confident in this relationship. He loved her; not that he was ever brave enough to tell her… Would telling her now do any good? Would she even believe him after the way he had been acting? Mike felt like he was spiraling, grasping for any idea to salvage what he could feel he was destroying. He picked up his phone and began typing.

Good morning. Sorry, I was asleep last night when you texted me and just read it this morning.

He stopped. What else could he say? Why was talking to El suddenly so hard?

I’m sorry for being so difficult lately. You don’t deserve that.

Mike stared at the message for several moments, wondering what else to add. He came up with nothing and sent it as it was.

Good morning. Mike, you don’t have to apologize. I just want you to be okay, and I want us to be okay. I feel like you’re pushing me away. El texted back.

Mike sighed, feeling even worse now that El confirmed he was making her feel bad, too. He didn’t want that.

Meet me before breakfast? I can be there in a half hour. Mike sent her, and El immediately responded to agree.

Mike got out of bed, took a quick shower, and got dressed. He was about to walk out the front door of the cabin when Dustin sat up in his bed.

“Where are you going this early?” he asked.

“To see El,” Mike replied. “We’re meeting before breakfast to talk.”

“Is everything okay with you two? Things have seemed weird,” Dustin asked.

Mike let out a sigh and almost answered, but then he looked over at Eric who still appeared to be sleeping. He didn’t want to risk Eric hearing anything about he and El having problems.

“Everything is great,” Mike said.

Dustin furrowed his brow, and Mike could tell he wasn’t convinced. He turned and left the cabin and then texted Dustin that they could talk later when Eric wasn’t around.

Mike walked down the path he has walked dozens of times. The closer he got to El’s cabin, the more nervous he felt. He wished these nerves were the ones they used to be, caused by excitement of seeing her, knowing how his heart would skip a beat when she came out to meet him. Instead, he knew these nerves were caused by the fear of screwing things up even worse, upsetting her, fighting with her.

Of course, his heart still skipped a beat when she came out to meet him. She was wearing black shorts and a red swing cami that flowed around her hips as she turned to close the door behind her. Her chestnut hair fell in waves over her shoulders, and she had braided the front section back and pinned it on the left side of her head. Even with everything going on in his head, El still took his breath away.

“Hey,” Mike said softly, but El did not respond.

Instead, she walked swiftly up to him, placed both hands on the sides of his face, and pressed her lips against his. Mike was taken off guard, but he quickly recovered, placing his hands on her waist and savoring the taste of her sweet kiss. With his eyes closed and El in his arms, in that moment it seemed like everything was okay again.

“Hey,” El finally breathed when she had pulled back, leaning her forehead against his.

“You look beautiful today,” Mike said, and he smiled when El’s cheeks blushed.

“Thank you,” she said, her smile reaching her eyes that sparkled.

They didn’t talk much. Maybe they should have. Mike had thought that they would talk about what was wrong, what felt off between them, and why he had been pushing her away. But instead, they slipped into the woods and fell into each other. Desperate, hungry kisses and soft moans filled the space around them, and for a moment, everything was okay again.

They never made it to breakfast, and at 9:45am, Mike groaned, knowing they had to get up and leave. He looked down at El whose head was resting on his bare chest, and he could feel each time she exhaled against his skin. Mike gently rubbed his hand up and down the soft skin of her back, resting it on her bare shoulder when he leaned down to kiss the top of her head.

“El,” he said gently, and her eyelids began to flutter, her eyelashes tickling his chest as she stirred out of her nap. “We’ve got to get up.”

El reluctantly pushed herself off of him, and she and Mike pulled their clothes back on, having previously remained in only El’s panties and Mike’s boxers. When they were dressed, and after Mike had brushed the grass and small leaves out of El’s hair, they walked hand-in-hand to El and Eric’s classroom. Mike softly kissed her goodbye before leaving for his own.

When Mike arrived, he saw Dani was already there, her eyes red and puffy again. She had not done her makeup this morning, which was a first for her, and her blonde hair was tied up into a messy bun on top of her head. Mike remembered that Dani had said she was going to talk to Eric last night, and he assumed it did not go well.

Then it hit him. Dani was going to talk to Eric because she saw him kissing El. Does this mean what Dani thought she saw was true? Maybe it wasn’t true, and Dani was just this upset because even though Eric hadn’t been kissing El, he still finally came clean about not wanting anything serious with Dani. Mike hoped it was the latter.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked when he reached Dani’s side. She sniffled and wiped the tip of her red nose.

“Not now, Mike,” she muttered, not looking up at him.

Mike nodded, accepting that it was best not to get her more worked up when they had the students to focus on. He opened up lesson one for the day and started class.

In El and Eric’s classroom, Eric greeted El with his normal smile and cheerful “good morning,” as if nothing had happened between them the previous day. El nodded cordially, deciding that it was her second-to-last day having to work with him, and she could get through it.

“Dani and I are over,” he muttered into her ear as he reached around her to grab the material for lesson one.

“Why do you think that interests me?” El asked just as quietly.

“I’m just following up on our conversation from yesterday,” Eric shrugged.

El watched him with narrow eyes as he wandered around the classroom passing out the information to the students. Today, the students were beginning to build their balloon-powered cars, so a lot of the work was independent. That meant that Eric had extra time to try and talk to El at the front of the classroom, which he took advantage of.

“Dani and I were just looking for different things, and it was time to be honest about that,” Eric continued when he reached the front of the classroom, as if he and El were having a casual conversation.

“Well, I’m assuming it would’ve been difficult to keep up your charade after she confronted you with all the awful things you’ve said about her,” El said curtly.

“How do you know what she’s heard?” Eric asked, furrowing his brow.

“How do you think? You openly said it in front of all the guys in the cabin. Mike told me how upset Dani was to find out that you were only in it to have sex with her,” El explained.

“Well, that may have been what she was upset about at first, but… did Dani not tell you what she saw?” Eric asked, and El narrowed her eyes at him again.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“When Dani confronted me last night, it wasn’t about the things she’d heard,” Eric began. “I mean, sure, that came up, but it wasn’t the main thing on her mind.”

El pursed her lips, ready to say that she didn’t care what Dani confronted him with because it didn’t concern her. Then, Eric continued.

“Apparently, she came here yesterday to meet me for lunch, and she saw us through the window,” he said. “She saw us pressed close together, my face near the crook of your neck. She thought I was kissing you.”

El’s face curled in disgust.

“And did you correct her?” she asked.

“Why would I? Things were ending anyway. Dani can believe what she wants to believe,” Eric shrugged.

“But it isn’t true,” El said. “I don’t want her thinking I would do that. Plus, I’m sure she’s even more upset, and Mike-”

El stopped abruptly and gasped. Mike. Of course. Dani had told him what she thought she saw. No wonder Mike was acting the way he was last night. She looked at Eric and wanted to slap the smug grin off his face.

“What did you say yesterday? That your situation wouldn’t be changing?” he said almost tauntingly.

“What is wrong with you?” El demanded quietly, not wanting the students to overhear. “I thought you were a nice guy. I told people you were a nice guy and that Jason was influencing you to act like a jerk.”

“Hey, I’m not Jason,” Eric said innocently.

“No, you’re worse,” El spat. “At least Jason was open about how much of a douchebag he was.”

Eric opened his mouth to retort, but they were interrupted when one of the students in the second row asked for help connecting two of the parts of his car. El was the first to break the glare that she and Eric were sharing, and she went to help the student.

El was seething for the rest of the morning classes. She wanted to tell Eric off, slap him across that smug face of his, run to Mike and tell him what really happened and beg him to believe her. But she couldn’t do any of those things. So, El did her best to keep calm and help the students through the pigeon dissection, making a point to not even look at Eric while he instructed from the front of the classroom.

On the other side of the camp, Mike and Dani were wrapping up lesson two. Once the students were dismissed, it was just the two of them. Before she even started speaking, Dani’s face started to turn red as her eyes welled up with tears again.

“What happened?” Mike asked as sympathetically as he could with his heart pounding in his chest.

“You’re not going to like this,” Dani said softly.

Mike’s stomach sank. He pulled out the chair next to Dani and sat down, waiting for her to continue. She let out a shaky breath and sniffled.

“I confronted Eric last night like I said I was going to. I asked him how stupid he thought I was, how long he planned on leading me on. He tried to play it off at first like he didn’t know what I was talking about,” Dani shook her head and sniffled again. “Then I told him I saw him and El when I went to meet him for lunch. I told him I saw him pressed up against her, kissing her neck… He didn’t deny it, Mike. He said ‘I’m sorry you had to see that.’”

Mike felt like the wind was knocked right out of him.

“Then he told me that he likes me, but h-he’s n-not looking for… anything s-serious right n-now,” Dani continued, the tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. “And I – I asked h-him how he could d-do that… How he could t-tell me how m-much he liked me and s-say he would v-visit me in Illinois when camp was over…”

Mike thought of all the times he and El have talked about him visiting her in Chicago, double-dating with Brandon, their Christmas plans. He thought of the times they talked about El visiting Hawkins. He was going to introduce her to his friends, to his parents and sisters.

“How he c-could be so sweet to me, and th-then talk about fucking me and telling J-Jason he could have a t-turn with me. It’s d-disgusting,” Dani spat. “I feel dirty, I feel… used.”

Mike still felt as if he were in a daze, but he heard the pain dripping from Dani’s words as she broke down next to him. Emotionlessly, he draped an arm over her shoulders and let her rest her head on his shoulder.

“You shouldn’t feel that way. It’s not your fault,” Mike said gently. “Eric’s a jerk. He’s – he’s such an asshole… He doesn’t deserve you, and you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“I just don’t know what I did wrong,” Dani cried into his shoulder.

“You didn’t do anything wrong,” Mike assured her. “Guys like him… it doesn’t matter how nice or smart or pretty you are. He doesn’t care about you as a person, just as another conquest.”

Dani lifted her head from Mike’s shoulder and looked up at him, pleading with her eyes.

“D-do you really think that? That I’m… smart? Pretty?” she asked meekly, sniffling through her tears.

Mike looked into her swollen eyes and felt his heart break for her. All Dani wanted was for someone to want her for who she was. But Mike felt like it was more than a want. It was a craving. Almost like Dani craved the validation. Mike wondered what happened to her to wreck her self-esteem, and he wondered how many jackasses like Eric have taken advantage of her in the past.

“Well, yeah, you are,” Mike finally replied. “And someday you will find someone who appreciates that about you, not someone who will just move on to the next girl he sees.”

Bitterness seeped into Mike’s tone, and he looked down at the floor. His arm was still around Dani’s shoulders, and he felt her scoot closer to him and reach forward for his other hand.

“Mike, you don’t deserve what El did to you either,” Dani said. “Eric and El… they’re in this together. He didn’t care about my feelings, and she didn’t care about yours.”

Mike wanted to tell Dani she was wrong. He wanted to say that there was still a misunderstanding, somehow, and that what Dani saw and Eric confirmed wasn’t true. But how could he believe that? How much of a fool could he be? So he just nodded.

“Yeah, I… I guess you’re right,” he said just above a whisper, still looking down at the floor.

“I’m sorry… I really did think El was a nice girl,” Dani said gently.

“So did I,” Mike chuckled.

“Mike?” Dani said timidly.

“Hmm?” Mike asked, looking over at her.

Dani was biting her bottom lip, and as soon as Mike’s eyes met hers, she leaned in and kissed him before Mike could react. When Dani pulled back, Mike’s eyes were frozen open in shock. Dani opened her mouth to speak, but she was interrupted by the third person in the room that neither Dani nor Mike realized had entered.

“What’s going on?” El demanded from the doorway.

Mike immediately stood and turned to see her standing in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest, and her fiery eyes glaring at him and Dani from above her pursed lips.

“E-El! It’s not what it looks like. Sh-she kissed me,” Mike insisted, forgetting momentarily about El’s betrayal he had just learned about.

“From where I’m standing, it didn’t exactly look like you tried to stop her,” El said, stepping fully into the classroom.

“And from where I was standing yesterday, it didn’t look like you were exactly pushing Eric away either,” Dani shot back, standing next to Mike.

“Is that what this is about? You don’t even know what you’re talking about, Dani,” El stated. “Eric and I never kissed.”

“I told him what I saw, and he said it was true,” Dani argued.

“He’s lying to you! Because he’s a lying piece of shit, and he doesn’t care who he hurts!” El exclaimed and then turned toward Mike. “That’s what I came here to tell you. I know what you must’ve heard, and it’s not true.”

Mike was looking at her, but it was like he was looking through her. He turned to face Dani.

“Could you give us some time alone to talk?” he asked.

It looked like Dani was about to protest, but she looked back and forth between Mike and El and eventually left the classroom.

“Mike, I know what Dani thinks she saw, but let me explain,” El began when they were alone.

“You want to explain now? I gave you so many chances to explain yesterday after it happened,” Mike said.

“I know, but… But I didn’t know Dani saw anything-”

“So what Dani saw is true?” Mike interrupted.

“No! Would you just listen for a minute?” El pleaded. “Eric came on to me yesterday. He did. He came toward me, and I backed up until I was up against the table. I physically couldn’t go any further, Mike. He put his hands down on the table, casing me in. But I promise you, I told him to stop. I told him that I’m with you, and that I’m happy with you, and that I don’t want him.”

“Why did Dani say she saw him kissing you?” Mike asked.

“Because he leaned down to whisper into my ear,” El replied. “He wasn’t kissing me, Mike. And then I pushed him away and told him no again. That’s the whole story, everything that happened. You’ve got to believe me.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this yesterday?” Mike asked. “It happened at the start of break. You didn’t say anything during lunch, and you didn’t say anything after classes, and I gave you so many opportunities.”

“If you seriously thought there was any truth to what Dani thought she saw, why didn’t you just ask me about it?” El retorted.

“Because, El, I wanted to see if you would tell me that something had happened,” Mike exclaimed. “I asked how your day was, if anything unusual happened. Shit, I even asked about Eric, and you told me nothing happened. You said he was being nice and friendly-”

“And I told you that he started to get too friendly, and I told him no and moved on,” El interjected. “I told you that, Mike. I didn’t go into every little detail about it because I didn’t want to make you worry even more-”

“Well clearly, I wasn’t wrong to be worried, was I?” Mike asked. “I knew he was going to try something.”

“And when he did, I rejected him,” El emphasized each word.

“Then you lied to me and told me nothing happened,” Mike said.

“No, I chose to be vague about it and just tell you that he started to get too friendly, so I told him no. I did that for your benefit, Mike,” El said defensively.

“My benefit? How is any of this for my benefit?” Mike demanded.

“Because I didn’t want to feed into your insecurities,” El blurted out. “Because you’re so damn concerned that I’m going to leave you for the first guy who looks my way, and I didn’t want to give you any more reasons to think that way.”

“Well I’m sorry that the shit that I’m insecure about in my own life is such a burden to you,” Mike said.

“It’s not a burden, Mike. You can always talk to me-”

“Whenever I tried to talk to you about this, you turned it into an issue of trust,” Mike exclaimed. “You think the fact that I’m worried about Eric making a move on you means that I don’t trust you.”

“No, I think the fact that you don’t trust me means that you don’t trust me,” El spat. 

“I did trust you, El,” Mike stated. “I trusted you more than I’ve ever trusted anyone. And then you hid something from me the day after having a big conversation about how I need to trust you. So what am I supposed to think, El? Hell, for all I know, you could be lying to me right now.”

“What are you talking about?” El asked.

“How do I know Eric didn’t tell you that he found out Dani saw you guys making out yesterday, so you put two and two together and figured out that Dani told me too. So you rushed over here with this bullshit story about how Dani saw him whisper in your ear and thought it was a kiss,” Mike said.

“Don’t be crazy,” El said.

“Don’t call me crazy, El. I wasn’t crazy when this happened to me before, and I’m not crazy now,” Mike insisted.

“Mike, I’m sorry about what happened to you before, but I didn’t do that. I have been nothing but honest with you until yesterday,” El said. “Yesterday, I hid some details from you, and I’m sorry. I thought I was doing it to protect you, and if I had known this would happen, I would have told you everything from the beginning. I promise.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, El,” Mike said. “What matters now is whether I can trust you not to keep things from me.”

El was silent. She stepped closer toward him and noticed that he wouldn’t look her in the eye.

“When we leave here and you go back to Chicago, you’ll be, like, four hours away from me,” Mike said much more calmly.

“Trusting each other will be all that we’ve got,” El said softly.

“I know,” Mike said. “And I’m sorry.”

El felt her stomach drop to the floor.

“Sorry for what?” she asked.

He still wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“I’m sorry that I just can’t trust that no guy in Chicago would hit on you… or that you wouldn’t hide things from me… or that you wouldn’t fall for one of them,” Mike said slowly.

“W-what are you saying?” El asked, her lip quivering as her heart rose into her throat.

“I’m saying that,” Mike paused and swallowed hard before forcing himself to continue. “I’m saying that this long-distance… it would be too hard.”

“You don’t mean that,” El said softly. “You don’t mean that. You were going to visit me on weekends and Christmas. I was going to come to Hawkins. We were going to text and facetime and – you don’t mean that.”

“Yes I do,” Mike said just above a whisper.

El’s breaths came out in short, rapid succession as she tried to stop her world from spinning. How could these words be coming out of the same mouth that had kissed her all over just hours ago?

“If you mean it,” El said, her voice shaking. “Then look at me. Look me in the eye and tell me, Mike.”

He slowly looked up to meet her gaze, and El felt numb all over. The light in his eyes was gone. Where there was usually adoration when he looked at her, now there was nothing. His eyes were dark and cold.

“It’s best to end things now before we get too attached… It was only a matter of time,” Mike said, not breaking their eye contact.

El felt a sharp pain in her lungs, and she gasped in and squeezed her eyes shut tight. When she opened them, Mike was still looking at her. She opened her mouth to speak, but the lump in her throat wouldn’t let any words come out. Not wanting to cry here, she shook her head and turned away from him and walked out of the classroom.

When she was gone, Mike sat back down and rested his head in his hands, letting his walls come back down enough to release some of the pain he was holding in. He closed his eyes as tears started to fall, but all he could see was El’s face as he told her they were through, that he was ending things before they became too attached. He knew it was too good to be true all along.


	15. Chapter 15

Monday morning, Dustin and Suzie were sitting in the cafeteria for breakfast. They were starting to get used to it being just the two of them – or the two of them plus Kayla and Tom – when eating, as Mike and El had not joined them for a meal since their breakup. Occasionally, one of them would come in and grab some food in a to-go container, but neither of them would stay, for fear of running into the other.

“I love you, but this is getting really depressing,” Suzie sighed, looking at the empty chairs around their table.

“I know. I feel the same way,” Dustin agreed. “I’ve never seen Mike this depressed before. All he does is mope around; he won’t talk to me about it. He didn’t leave the cabin at all this weekend; I’m not even convinced he got out of bed.”

“El’s the same way,” Suzie said. “She’s heartbroken over this.”

“I kind of feel bad, too. I could tell something was off, and I asked Mike about him and El that morning, literally hours before shit hit the fan,” Dustin recalled. “He told me everything was great, and then he texted me that we could talk later. We never got the chance to.”

“Do you really think you could’ve done anything to stop it?” Suzie asked, and Dustin shrugged.

“I don’t know, but maybe if he would’ve talked about what was going on, I could’ve given him some advice to help him keep his head on straight and things wouldn’t have happened the way they did,” Dustin said.

“What do you think you would’ve said?” Suzie asked, furrowing her brow.

“I don’t know; you’re putting me on the spot. Something like, ‘Mike, what Stephanie did to you sucks, but that ended almost two months ago at this point, and it’s time to let it go. El is a different person, and she has done nothing to make you believe that she would treat you that way. You barely even know Dani, so maybe you should get El’s side of the story before believing the worst-case scenario. You and El are great together, so get your head out of your ass and talk to her and stop pushing her away before you get to a point where you can’t fix it.’ Probably something like that,” Dustin replied.

“That’s not bad for making it up on the spot,” Suzie grinned. “How do you think he would’ve taken it?”

“He would’ve let out a big sigh and been like ‘I know, but she’s just so pretty, and there’s no way she could fall for me long-term.’ This is where I would remind him that you are gorgeous and love me, despite my nerdiness which surpasses that of his own,” Dustin began. “To which, Mike would continue with ‘Well, yeah, but in a couple weeks El will be back in Chicago and I’ll be back in Hawkins.’ At which point, I would interrupt him to remind him that I also live in Hawkins and you live all the way in god-damn Utah, but we still make it work. He would not fully acknowledge this and would say something like ‘But how do I know guys in Chicago won’t try something with her? There are so many guys in Chicago she could have.’ I’d say ‘Yeah, Mike, but she wants you.’ Then he’d say ‘She says that now, but how do I know she won’t fall for a guy back home?’ And I would have to be blunt and tell him ‘You don’t. You never know what’s going to happen. This is where you have to take a leap of faith and trust your girlfriend because you know how you feel about her and how she makes you feel.’ Think I made a good point?”

Suzie nodded, an amused grin on her face.

“Yeah, so do I. But this is the part where Mike comes full-circle, and we’re back to ‘But she’s just so pretty.’” Dustin rolled his eyes. “I swear, talking to him is like talking in circles sometimes.”

“Well, you did your best,” Suzie said through her smile, rubbing his shoulder sympathetically.

“Don’t mock me,” Dustin chuckled. “That is exactly how that conversation would have gone.”

“So, do you realistically think things would have gone any different if you had gotten the chance to talk to him beforehand?” Suzie asked, and Dustin sighed.

“I guess probably not,” he admitted. “But I like to think that maybe I could’ve encouraged him to at least not believe Dani’s story right away and try to listen to El’s side of things with an open mind.”

“Maybe he’ll come around after a few days,” Suzie said hopefully.

“Time is running out. We’re only here this week and next week,” Dustin pointed out. “Do you think there is anything we could do to help them fix this? To make them talk to each other and figure things out?”

“I don’t think you and I meddling in this would be a good idea,” Suzie said.

“We meddled in getting them together in the first place, why not round two?” Dustin chuckled.

Just then, Mike appeared at their table and pulled out a chair. He sank down into it, his face expressionless other than the pain that filled his eyes. Dustin noticed Mike’s eyes just barely still had a red tint around them and the swelling from early that morning had mostly gone away. At least he was trying to hide the fact that he had spent a good portion of the weekend crying.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting to see you at breakfast,” Dustin said in a much softer tone.

“Yeah, well,” Mike sighed. “Tom left… It was just me and that asshole… Didn’t want to be around him.”

Dustin nodded understandingly and picked up an untouched piece of toast from his plate and held it across the table to Mike.

“Since you’re here, why don’t you eat something,” Dustin offered. “You barely ate all weekend.”

Mike shook his head.

“I’m not hungry,” he mumbled.

“Come on, just eat the toast,” Dustin insisted.

“Dustin-”

“Mike, do you really think I want to explain to your mom that after talking you in to coming to camp with me for six weeks, I let you starve yourself to death?” Dustin interrupted.

“I’m not starving myself. I’m just… not hungry,” Mike mumbled.

It was true. He hadn’t felt hungry ever since his breakup with El. He also hadn’t felt happy, excited, or even tired. Falling asleep was hard, even though all Mike felt like doing was laying in bed. He spent most of the time staring up at the bottom of Dustin’s bed, replaying his fight with El over and over in his head. Oftentimes, the good times they had together would pop into his head, interrupting the breakup fight. His mind would go from that heart-shattering look on El’s face when he told her it was best to end things, to them tangled up together in the woods or him pointing out the constellations in the sky for her while they laid under the stars or them pressed closely together under the moonlight while they kissed alone in the lake. 

Mike felt the tears begin to well up in his eyes as those memories flashed through his head. He sniffed and blinked the tears away, looking down at the table in front of him.

“Come on, man, you’ve got to take care of yourself,” Dustin said gently.

After another moment, Mike sighed and reached for the piece of toast Dustin was offering him. He took a bite of it, and just like everything else he had tried to force himself to eat over the weekend, it was bland. His jaw didn’t want to chew, his stomach had no interest in what was coming its way. But Mike went through the motions and forced himself to eat it anyway.

“Are you feeling any better?” Suzie asked gently when Mike had finished the piece of toast.

“Not yet,” Mike shrugged. “But I’ll be fine… I got through this once, I can do it again.”

“It’s been a few days now,” Dustin began carefully. “Have you considered talking to El?”

“There’s no need,” Mike said sadly, staring at the table again. “I knew all along it was too good to be true… She was too good to be true.”

Dustin found himself at a loss for words. Just minutes ago, he had bluntly told Suzie the advice he would have given Mike, but now seeing his best friend looking so defeated and fragile, the right words were harder to find.

“I really think that maybe you guys should try to talk,” Dustin started carefully, and Mike’s eyes glazed over as he tuned his friend out. “You were so good together… I know how much you still care about her.”

Mike did not answer; he continued to stare blankly ahead. He could vaguely feel Dustin and Suzie’s eyes on him, and he did not want to look up and see their pitiful expressions. He had never felt so low before, and there did not appear to be an end in sight any time soon.

“Umm,” he heard Suzie softly hum while she nudged Dustin’s shoulder.

Mike looked up in time to see Suzie nodding her head in the direction over Mike’s shoulder. He turned around and saw that El had entered the cafeteria. She looked as beautiful as ever, walking in wearing denim shorts and a t-shirt with her hair loosely hanging over her shoulders. Mike watched as El grabbed a banana and turned toward their table. Their eyes met briefly, and Mike swore he felt his heart stop as he looked into her hazel eyes for the first time in days. He broke eye contact first and turned back to Dustin and Suzie.

“I’m gonna go… Get to class early and get it ready before Kayla gets there,” he said before standing.

Mike walked across the floor and out the cafeteria door, using all of his strength to not look in El’s direction again, though he could feel her watching him as he passed her.

When Mike was gone, El made her way over to where Dustin and Suzie were sitting. She forced a small smile and sat down in the chair that Mike had occupied moments before.

“Glad to see you’re eating,” Suzie said, nodding at the banana that El was peeling.

“I just didn’t care for dinner last night,” El shrugged with an excuse as to why she had barely eaten.

“Are you feeling okay?” Suzie asked, and El shrugged again.

“I don’t really have a choice, do I? I have a job to do, and I have to start trying to get over everything,” El replied.

“I know, but-”

“I mean, maybe he had a point, you know?” El interjected, and Suzie remained quiet, hoping El would finally open up a bit more about how she was feeling. “Long distance. It would’ve been hard. I know it works for you guys, but… No, it just would’ve been too much.”

Suzie smiled sympathetically as El tried to convince herself that Mike was right about their long-distance relationship being too difficult. In reality, Suzie knew that El and Mike had made plans to keep in regular contact and to visit each other regularly. Suzie knew how excited El had been to show Mike around her favorite places in Chicago and how much she was looking forward to seeing his life in Hawkins. 

“El, it’s okay to be upset-”

“I’ll be fine,” El said firmly. “I will. I just… I don’t want to talk about it anymore, okay?”

“Okay,” Suzie nodded.

El finished her banana in silence, doing her best to maintain a look on her face that concealed how broken she was actually feeling. As she was finishing her banana, Tom walked in and over to their table.

“Hey, El, I’m going to grab some breakfast to go, and then do you want to head over to our classroom?” he asked.

“Sure, thanks,” El smiled up at him.

As Tom went to get some breakfast, El tossed her banana peel into a nearby trashcan and then sighed, looking back at Dustin and Suzie.

“I appreciate you guys being concerned. I really do,” El said. “But I’ll be fine. It may just take me some time to get there… I just hope that the three of us can still be friends.”

“Of course,” Suzie said immediately, and Dustin nodded.

“Great,” El sighed. “Well, I’d better go. It looks like Tom is almost ready.”

Dustin and Suzie watched as El met up with Tom and walked out of the cafeteria to head toward their classroom. 

“She seems to be holding herself together well,” Dustin said when El had gone.

“I think she’s just better at hiding it in public than Mike is,” Suzie said.

They stood up and discarded their trash, and as they walked out of the cafeteria, they stopped to say goodbye before parting ways.

“Have a good day, Suzie-poo,” Dustin said, leaning down to peck her lips.

“Oh, I will,” Suzie said, and Dustin furrowed his brow at her response. “I’m working with Eric this week, and I intend to find out what the hell his problem is.”

“What happened to not meddling?” Dustin chuckled.

“Maybe I can allow some minor meddling,” Suzie grinned.

She leaned up to kiss Dustin one more time before they parted ways to start their day.

Suzie and Eric worked rather well together; so well that none of the students were able to tell that Suzie was seething every time she looked at him. Just as El had been, Suzie was surprised to see how good Eric was with the kids, and Suzie momentarily wondered how such a smart and seemingly nice guy could really be such an asshole. Luckily, she had every intention of asking him.

The students finished their earthworm dissections and cleaned up their stations. Once the campers were dismissed and had left the classroom, Suzie grabbed Eric’s attention before he had the chance to leave.

“So, you worked with El last week, right?” she asked casually while readjusting the stack of lesson three packets.

“That’s right,” Eric nodded. “Why?”

“Well, I was surprised when she told me, but she was right. You are really good with the campers,” Suzie said.

“Oh, thanks,” Eric smiled, but Suzie noticed how he had furrowed his brow in surprise.

“Were you expecting me to say something else?” she asked.

“Like what?” Eric asked.

“Like that you’re a really nice guy, and we had you misjudged because you were hanging out with Jason,” Suzie offered innocently.

“Well, that’s true,” Eric said.

“Is it? How about the fact that you let Dani and Mike believe that you and El were making out when you were partners last week?” Suzie asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

“It was time for things to end between me and Dani anyway,” Eric shrugged. “And I don’t talk to Mike. I have no control over what he believes.”

“You’re not stupid. You knew Dani would go back and tell him,” Suzie said. “I just don’t understand why. What do you gain from ruining Mike and El’s relationship?”

“I didn’t ruin anything. If he took the word of some girl who he barely even knows over the word of his own girlfriend, then that’s on him, not me,” Eric said.

“I think you were jealous that El actually liked Mike when she rejected you from the very beginning,” Suzie said. “Your ego couldn’t take being turned down, so you decided you couldn’t let her be happy. They were doing great-”

“Were they?” Eric interjected. “Because I casually asked Mike if he was still seeing El, and he got extremely defensive about it. I’m thinking your pal Mike has some deeper issues here, and again, that’s not on me.”

Suzie pursed her lips. She was not about to discuss any of Mike’s issues with Eric.

“So was that your plan? Get inside Mike’s head and make him paranoid that El would leave him for you? Then move in on El?” Suzie asked. “And when El didn’t take you up on it, you just made Mike believe she did? Did you think with Mike out of the picture, she would change her mind about wanting you?”

“You are thinking about this way too hard,” Eric said through an amused smile. “I didn’t have some elaborate plan to do anything. I just don’t care. I’m never going to see these people again; they’re not my friends. Yeah, El’s hot. I tried to hook up with her, and she turned me down. Dani confronted me all emotional and whiny, so I let her believe whatever she believed. Things were ending anyway; it didn’t matter if she thought I kissed someone else. Then El came at me all smug about it the next day. Why should I care if she and Mike work out or not?”

“You’re crazy,” Suzie said, shaking her head.

“That’s fine,” Eric shrugged, clearly checked out of the conversation. “But if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go get some lunch now that you’ve wasted the first ten minutes.”

Suzie watched him leave, dumbfounded by the conversation they had just had. Was he telling the truth? Did he really just let people believe what they believed because he didn’t care enough to correct them? Suzie wasn’t fully convinced that Eric wasn’t motivated by jealousy and spite from El’s rejection. She sighed as she accepted that she would probably never know for sure.

At lunch, Dustin was eager to hear if Suzie had gotten anything out of Eric.

“Nothing,” Suzie said. “He is either a jealous asshole or a sociopath. I don’t know which.”

“Is there a rule stating that he can’t be both?” Dustin asked, and Suzie chuckled while shaking her head.

“So much for my minor meddling being of any assistance,” she muttered.

“If it’s any consolation, my week with Dani is going to be just as unproductive,” Dustin said. “She’s still heartbroken over Eric using her the way he did. Only now, she’s also feeling guilty about kissing Mike.”

“What a mess,” Suzie sighed.

“You’re telling me,” Dustin agreed. “I say we opt for plan B.”

“What’s plan B?” Suzie asked, furrowing her brow.

“Lock Mike and El in the utility shed until they get back together,” Dustin smirked.

“Like that episode of How I Met Your Mother when Marshall and Lily lock Barney and Robin in the bedroom until they talk about their relationship?” Suzie asked.

“Just like that! It worked for them,” Dustin said.

“Well, this isn’t a sitcom. These are people’s lives. No more meddling unless it becomes absolutely necessary,” Suzie said.

“So, what? Plan B is to just sit back and hope things get better?” Dustin asked.

“Yes,” Suzie replied.

Dustin leaned back in his chair and huffed.

“Fine. But when that plan fails, like, tomorrow, the utility shed is plan C,” he said.

Unfortunately, things did not start to get better on their own. In the male counselors’ cabin, Mike simply pretended that Eric did not exist. They had rarely talked anyway, but now it was as if Eric was invisible. Then again, Mike hardly talked to anyone anymore. Dustin was convinced Mike only got out of bed for classes because he was obligated to. Other than that, it seemed like Mike was simply going through the motions, waiting for camp to be over so he could go home.

Tuesday night, Mike was laying in his bed scrolling through his and El’s older text messages, something that he had recently started doing. Reading the sweet words they used to exchange helped trick his mind into feeling a brief moment of happiness, but that quickly went away when he reached the bottom. They hadn’t spoken in days. 

“Look, Suzie would kill me for meddling, but I hate seeing you like this,” Dustin said, resting his hands on his own top bunk as he stood next to Mike, looking down at his sad friend.

“Trust me, I hate feeling like this,” Mike mumbled.

“Then please just talk to her,” Dustin said.

“What’s the use?” Mike sighed. “We haven’t spoken since… I’m sure she’s either moved on or hates me now.”

“I don’t think she could do either of those things if she tried,” Dustin replied.

Mike said nothing, only let out another sigh and shook his head.

“All I’m saying is you love this girl. Remember? You never told her, but you told me,” Dustin said. “Maybe that’s something that she should get to know.”

“I broke up with her. I told her I can’t trust her not to cheat me on, and I told her a long-distance relationship would be too hard. This all happened after I made plans with her for a long-distance relationship,” Mike said. “I think telling her that I love her now would be too little too late.”

“Well, maybe don’t lead with it,” Dustin chuckled. “But seriously, we leave in a week and a half. If you don’t want El out of your life forever, you should really, really consider talking to her.”

Mike rolled over onto his side, facing the wall and ignoring Dustin. Dustin sighed in frustration and climbed up to his bed, wondering if Suzie was sticking to her “no meddling” policy.

“El…” Suzie said sympathetically as she stood over El’s shoulder.

El immediately locked her phone and dropped it onto her chest, but she knew she had been busted. Suzie had walked up while El was scrolling through her camera roll, looking at the photos that she and Mike had taken together over the past few weeks. Her chest grew tighter with each picture, seeing how happy they looked and remembering each moment as if it had just happened.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” El said.

“I probably shouldn’t get involved… Dustin would kill me… But El, Mike is miserable without you,” Suzie said.

“Mike chose to be without me,” El said quietly.

“You’ve got to know that’s not what he really wants,” Suzie said.

“He said he meant it,” El recalled softly.

“He let his emotions and fears speak for him,” Suzie said.

“Maybe… But I can’t force him to trust me. I can’t fix this, Suzie,” El said.

“I thought you loved him,” Suzie reminded her.

“I do,” El replied softly, looking down at her hands in her lap.

“Then show him that. Don’t let him push you away. Don’t let him go back to Hawkins without things being right between you two,” Suzie said.

El sighed and shook her head. She did wish it were that simple. She wished she could wave a magic wand and take away all of Mike’s fears and make him trust her. She wished she could erase the image of Mike and Dani kissing from her mind. But she couldn’t. Things weren’t as easy to fix as Suzie wanted them to be. El pulled her covers up to her chin and turned away from Suzie, closing her eyes and praying for a dreamless sleep.

The next morning, Kayla skipped out on breakfast and went to her classroom early, hoping to find that Mike would show up early again too as he did the previous day. When she arrived, she was glad to see that Mike was already seated up front, a blank expression on his face as he waited for the day to begin. She walked up front to join him, and he did not look up at her.

“Hey,” Kayla said, and she settled for the grunt that Mike responded with. At least he acknowledged that she was there. “You’re here early.”

“What else am I gonna do?” Mike sighed. “I can’t go to the cafeteria and see…”

“Mike, do you want to talk about it?” Kayla asked.

Mike finally looked up at her. Her blue eyes were filled with sympathy, and Mike felt his walls come down just a bit. Dustin meant well, but Mike thought there just might be something comforting about talking to someone who didn’t already know every insecurity and heartbreak he had ever had.

“I fell for El the moment I saw her on move-in day,” he said softly. “I tried to fight it, but I knew. She was breathtaking and so sweet… God, I just completely fell in lo – I fell for her… hard.”

“When did you find out that she felt the same way?” Kayla asked, not pointing out what he had almost slipped up and said.

“It didn’t take long,” Mike admitted. “We were always together. We talked about our friends, our families, our exes. I felt like we really had something rare… But I also knew it was happening too fast. Things don’t work like that. Relationships aren’t that easy and flawless. I knew all along it was too good to be true, and I was finally proven right… God, I was so stupid to fall so hard so fast.”

Kayla was silent for a moment, waiting to see if Mike was going to add anything else. She let his words sink in, and she bit her tongue briefly, wondering if it was her place to say what was on her mind.

“I don’t want to cross the line or anything, but what if you didn’t fall so fast because you were being stupid, but you fell so fast because you were supposed to? You met the person that you were supposed to be with, and that’s why everything seemed so easy,” Kayla began carefully.

“Based on how things ended, I don’t think that was the case,” Mike said.

“You said you told yourself all along that it was too good to be true,” Kayla said. “What if you were subconsciously looking for that thing that would prove you right?”

Mike didn’t speak. Could he have been doing that? Looking for that one thing that would prove that El was too good to be true? Trying to find it now rather than later to try and minimize the pain? No. El still kept secrets from him about Eric. He didn’t make that up.

When Mike still remained silent, Kayla decided to add one more thing.

“I know you’re worried about El being around other guys when she goes back to Chicago,” Kayla said gently. “But she has been around other guys her whole life, and she was around other guys here at camp. The only person I’ve ever heard El talk about is you. She has never talked about Eric or any other guy. The person she talked about every night before falling asleep, every morning when she was getting ready for the day; the person who brought a smile to her face just from mentioning their name, the person she would blush when asked about… It was always you. And El has been completely miserable ever since the breakup.”

Mike repeated Kayla’s words in his head. Was it possible that he could have jumped to conclusions with the Eric situation? Maybe. But, El still didn’t tell him the whole truth. That was a fact that Mike just could not shake.

Suddenly, the campers began to file into the classroom. Mike did his best to push the thoughts of him and El out of his mind. With a small smile of appreciation to Kayla for talking with him, Mike stood up, ready to start the day.


	16. Chapter 16

Later Wednesday night, Mike was in the male counselors’ cabin talking to Dustin about what Kayla had said. Kayla’s theory had been on Mike’s mind for the rest of the day, and he wanted Dustin’s input.

“She told me that I may have subconsciously been looking for something to go wrong so I could be proven right about the relationship going too well,” Mike recapped.

Dustin nodded along, remaining quiet while Mike filled him in on the conversation he and Kayla had had earlier. Mike was finally talking about he and El’s situation willingly, so Dustin was not going to interrupt.

“You know I told you how many times that I thought things were too easy and that things were going too smoothly,” Mike reminded him. “Could I really have been looking for something to go wrong? Is that even a thing people do?”

Mike paused, waiting for Dustin to answer. Dustin was not prepared and was suddenly trying to figure out how to politely answer the question.

“Well, yeah, it is something people do,” he said. “You know, like, self-sabotaging… And I don’t know if that is what you did, but… it isn’t beyond the realm of possibility that you may have been looking for something.”

“I wasn’t looking for her to kiss someone else,” Mike said.

“She said she didn’t do that,” Dustin reminded him.

“Yeah, after she was caught in a lie,” Mike retorted. “And, fine, even if her story is true and she didn’t kiss him, she still lied to me. That’s not something I’m making up.”

“I mean, she technically withheld information,” Dustin agreed. “But what can you really do, Mike? Expect her to tell you every detail about every interaction she has with a guy?”

“Well, no, but I asked her outright if something happened with Eric, and she said no,” Mike said. “She admitted that she said no because she didn’t want to tell me the truth and worry me.”

“Her heart was in the right place,” Dustin said.

“Maybe it was, but how can I know that she won’t lie to me – or withhold information – in the future just to protect my feelings?” Mike asked.

“I think this whole breakup – El seeing how seriously you take being honest with each other – will really make her see that she can’t do that and expect to be with you,” Dustin replied. “I guarantee if you and El get back together, she would never do anything to get back into a situation like this again.”

“For what it’s worth, I agree,” Tom said from his bunk across the cabin.

Mike and Dustin turned toward him as Tom started walking over to where they were talking. It was just the three of them in the cabin at the moment, as Eric had not come in yet. They assumed he was somewhere messing around with Nikki, as they saw Eric and Nikki eating dinner together and leaving the cafeteria together.

“I’ve worked with El all week, and she is miserable,” Tom said. “She tries to hide it for the students, but she is not the same person she has been all summer.”

It still pained Mike to hear that El was hurting.

“I’m miserable without her, too, but… It just wouldn’t work,” Mike said, though he sounded less certain.

“Why not?” Dustin asked.

“The long distance, the never knowing if other guys are hitting on her… It would drive me crazy every day. The distance would make it too hard,” Mike repeated. “It’s better to end things now before we get too attached.”

“Mike, you can keep trying to convince yourself that the distance is what’s keeping you away from her, but we both know that’s not the case,” Dustin said. “You love her. When you love someone, distance doesn’t make you throw in the towel. You try harder to make it work because you don’t want to feel the way you are feeling right now.”

Mike looked down at the floor. It wasn’t like he could argue Dustin’s point. After all, Dustin was in a successful long-distance relationship.

“And besides,” Dustin continued in a gentler tone. “Weren’t you two already pretty attached?”

Mike let out a long sigh but did not answer. He knew he had grown attached to El, accustomed to her being there nearly every free minute of his day. As much as he loved Dustin and Suzie, the best parts of Mike’s day were always when he and El were able to sneak away and just be together, learn more about each other, and even lay silently together. Just her very existence made his world better. 

“Which is why it’s best that this happened early,” Mike forced out. “We would’ve kept growing closer, and when the inevitable happened later, it would’ve hurt us both even more.”

“What makes you think a breakup would be so inevitable?” Dustin asked.

“It would’ve happened eventually. We would only get to see each other maybe a few days each month if we were able to visit on weekends,” Mike said. “Eventually, I would’ve done something to screw it up; I would’ve driven myself crazy thinking about other guys being around her, and one of us would’ve ended it. Or the distance would’ve gotten to her and she would’ve found a new guy in Chicago, which would be easier because she could see him any time… We’re sixteen. She wouldn’t want to feel tied down by someone four hours away.”

“What about you?” Dustin asked.

“What do you mean?” Mike furrowed his brow.

“You said she would get sick of the distance, she would meet someone new, she wouldn’t want to feel tied down,” Dustin pointed out. “Wouldn’t you be worried about those things happening to you, too?”

“Of course not,” Mike replied quickly.

“Why not?” Dustin asked.

“Because I love her, and I couldn’t be interested in another girl,” Mike said without thinking.

“Exactly,” Dustin said with a satisfied smile. “When are you going to let yourself accept that El feels the same way about you that you do about her? She doesn’t want anyone else, just like you don’t. Distance isn’t going to change that.”

“But what if-”

“What if it does? What if she meets someone else? I swear, talking with you really is like going in circles,” Dustin chuckled. “You never know what could happen. You just have to trust her.”

“And how can I trust her to be honest with me, knowing that she already lied to me once? And she lied to me when there was no distance between us and when things were good. It would be so much easier for her to hide things from me when we’re both back home,” Mike said.

“You have to talk to her about it, Mike,” Dustin said gently. “I guarantee she regrets it.”

“I’ll think about it,” Mike relented, nodding.

Even though Dustin made some good points, Mike couldn’t just decide to trust her. El had made a big deal about honesty and then lied to him the next day when he asked about Eric. He had to figure out how to get past that before possibly talking to El about their relationship.

Dustin was about to encourage Mike even more to talk to El, when Eric suddenly came into the cabin. Mike ignored Eric, as he had been all week, and rolled onto his side facing the wall to go to sleep. Dustin and Tom both crawled into their beds to do the same.

The next day, El met Tom in their classroom and tried to begin the day with a smile on her face. She had hoped that focusing on the lessons each day would distract her from what had happened with Mike, but she found that even when she was talking to the campers about their projects for each class, her fight with Mike was still in the back of her mind. The second that the campers were occupied, El’s mind wandered to the sound of Mike’s voice saying that it was best to end things between them. Each time her mind replayed it, it was like she was living it all over again. She felt her veins turn to ice, her heart stop pounding, and her stomach drop to the floor every single time she relived it.

Today marked one full week since that day. One week since she had learned that Eric had let Mike believe that she was unfaithful to him. One week since she had walked in and her heart stopped at the sight of Mike and Dani kissing. A whole week since she had pleaded for Mike to believe her story that she had never done anything with Eric and that she had rejected him and chose not to tell Mike for fear of worrying him. And, of course, one whole week since Mike had told her that they were over.

That also means it had been a whole week since she had kissed him, touched him, or even spoken to him. El’s mind drifted back to that morning one week ago, just hours before everything came crashing down. She could still taste his sweet, early morning kisses and feel his lips against hers. She could feel every touch as he made her feel so good, and she could feel his soft skin underneath her fingertips, his warm breath against her neck, and his quiet moans in her ear. El would never understand how things had gone from so good to so bad in such a short amount of time.

“Good morning,” she greeted the campers with a smile when they had all taken their seats, doing her best to force her thoughts to the back of her mind. “It’s your second-to-last day, so you’ll be working on your projects for a lot of the day.”

El and Tom helped the students get started with their balloon-powered cars, and when they were all working independently, El’s mind began to stray again.

“How are you doing today, El?” came Tom’s voice, and El had never been so thankful to start a conversation.

“I’m doing okay,” she replied with a smile. “Can’t believe our last day of having any campers is tomorrow already.”

“I know. It flew by, didn’t it?” Tom agreed.

El nodded, and her smile faded a bit. It had flown by because El had spent every possible minute that she could with Mike. It had flown by because it had been the happiest summer of her life. But now, each minute was dragging.

“It sure did,” she managed.

“Well, look, I uh… I know that we don’t know each other all that well,” Tom began awkwardly.

El braced herself. She knew what topic he was about to bring up. It seemed like everyone wanted to talk to her about her relationship with Mike except for Mike himself.

“I can tell that you haven’t fully been yourself this week,” Tom continued. “And I just wanted to make sure you’re handling everything okay.”

“Thanks, Tom,” El said through a forced smile. “I know you share a cabin with Mike, so I don’t know what all you’ve heard… It has been rough, but I’ll be okay.”

Tom studied her face for a moment longer. He hardly knew her, but he could tell when people were faking, and he was certain that El was using all her strength to keep herself together.

“I don’t know how much this helps, but just know that Mike seems to miss you just as much as you miss him,” Tom said. “He is pretty miserable. He says he’s worried about the long-distance, and I know I don’t know him that well either, but it seems like there’s more to it than that… Dustin seems to think so, too. But whatever it is, he is having a really hard time with this.”

El smiled and looked down at the floor. She hated hearing that Mike was in pain, but somehow, it brought her a little bit of relief each time she heard that he was not over her yet… It made El think there was still hope for them, as selfish as that thought may be.

“Thanks, Tom. That does help,” she said softly, and then she looked up at him. “Does he… does he ever seem like he’s mad at me? Something happened between us, and… I just don’t want him to hate me.”

“I can assure you he doesn’t hate you. Quite the opposite, actually…” Tom replied, having obviously heard Mike’s admission of loving El, but knowing it was not his own place to tell her. “And he never seems mad, only hurt and confused.”

“Thanks,” El nodded.

As El started to think that there still may be hope for them, her mind drifted to fantasies about making up and spending their whole remaining weekend together. She was interrupted when it was time for the campers to start their pigeon dissection in lesson two, but the thought never fully left her mind.

In her cabin that night, El and Suzie were sitting on El’s bottom bunk, their backs leaned against the wall as they talked in hushed tones. Kayla was laying in her own bed reading a book, Nikki was perched on her bed painting her toenails, and Dani was laying on her stomach on her bed scrolling through her phone. With all the girls being in, El did not want them all to hear what she and Suzie were discussing. She didn’t mind if Kayla were to hear, but El couldn’t help but still harbor anger toward Dani, and Nikki just had no business knowing anything about El and Mike.

“Tom told me today that Mike seems miserable,” El said. “He said that Mike misses me.”

“Mike does miss you,” Suzie confirmed.

“Tom also said that Mike doesn’t seem mad at me about anything that happened,” El continued.

“I would agree with that,” Suzie concurred. “Mad was never really the word I would’ve used to describe Mike’s feelings about everything.”

“So if he’s not mad, and he misses me…” El trailed off, hoping Suzie would see where her thought was going. “I just don’t see where the disconnect is. Why won’t he talk to me?”

“Mike is really hurting right now. A lot of it is from the breakup because he does miss you so much,” Suzie explained. “But… I think he’s also still hurting because of the situation with you and Eric.”

“I told him nothing happened,” El insisted. “I didn’t tell him all the details because I didn’t want him to feel threatened. I didn’t want him to worry about Eric hitting on me. I turned Eric down, and I thought that’s all Mike would need to know.”

“I know,” Suzie said sympathetically. “But, according to Dustin, Mike is just really worried that since you weren’t honest with him once, you might lie or hide things from him again in the future.”

“But I won’t,” El said. “If I had known this would’ve happened, I wouldn’t have even hidden anything from him in the first place.”

“I know,” Suzie repeated. “The problem is that Mike has been hurt badly once – not all that long ago – and I think he’s just really scared that he’ll keeping falling harder for you and you’ll eventually do the same thing to him.”

El sighed and rubbed her forehead.

“I wish there was a way to get him to understand that I’m sorry – for lying to him, for everything – and that he has nothing to be scared of,” she said. “Honestly, it… it hurts to know that he feels like he can’t trust me.”

“Trust is everything, especially when you are about to start a long-distance relationship,” Suzie said. “Mike needs to work through his trust issues, but maybe you could try talking to him. It has been a week. Maybe it would help to remind him that you’re sorry and that you want to be with him.”

“Well, there’s more that I would want to talk to him about before getting back together,” El muttered, glancing over at Dani.

Everyone had been focused on the fact that Mike and El broke up and the fact that El had lied to him, but it seemed like everyone had forgotten about the fact that El had walked in on Mike and Dani actually kissing. El missed Mike tremendously, and she felt horrible for hurting him, but she was hurt, too. She didn’t want to seem selfish, but she would need to discuss what she saw between him and Dani, too.

Suzie followed El’s gaze and then nodded her understanding.

“I want to fix what I did by lying to him, absolutely,” El said. “But then we would have to talk about that… As much as it hurts that he doesn’t feel like he can trust me, it hurts that I had to walk in to see… I literally can’t get the image out of my brain.”

El heard Dani shifting in her bed. She looked over to see Dani sitting up and swinging her legs over the side of her bed. El hoped that Dani was just getting up to use the restroom or something and that El had not been speaking too loudly. Though, when Dani looked over and met El’s eyes, El knew that Dani had overheard.

“Look, I know what you’re talking about,” Dani said. “And I think you should cut him some slack about that.”

El furrowed her brow and Dani stood and walked closer to El and Suzie.

“What he said – that I kissed him – that was true,” Dani said.

“Why would you do that? You knew he and I were together,” El asked, doing her best to keep a steady voice.

“I was really upset about Eric,” Dani replied, glancing down at the floor and looking ashamed. “I was feeling sad and used… And I really did believe that I saw you and Eric making out. Mike was so sweet and was telling me that I didn’t deserve to be treated that way… It was nice. He let me literally cry on his shoulder, and he told me that Eric was a shitty person and tried to make me feel better.”

El felt her pulse quicken at the thought of Dani being so vulnerable with Mike, but she knew Mike probably initiated it by noticing Dani was upset.

“I leaned over and kissed him. He was completely surprised by it. It wasn’t his fault at all; it was me,” Dani concluded.

It immediately felt like a weight had been lifted from El’s chest when she heard straight from Dani that Dani had been the one who kissed Mike and Mike was truly innocent in the whole thing.

“Seriously, Dani? I know you were upset, but at least have some standards,” Nikki scoffed, not looking up from painting her toenails.

“You want to talk about having standards?” El blurted out, her eyes narrowing in anger. “You were openly sleeping with a guy who objectified every girl here – including you – and got sent home early for sexual harassment.”

“I am not getting in to this again,” Nikki said, rolling her eyes and still not looking up.

El took a deep breath to calm herself and looked back at Dani.

“Well, thanks for telling me,” she said.

“I want you to know I’m sorry, too,” Dani said. “I shouldn’t have kissed him, and I feel like I had something to do with you guys breaking up… But how was I supposed to know Eric was lying and just letting me believe what I thought I saw?”

“Eric is clearly the villain here. He lied to you and didn’t care what kind of a mess he was making,” Suzie said. “But at least the truth is out there now.”

“Yeah, but what good does that really do? It still doesn’t fix that Mike doesn’t trust me,” El reminded her, circling back around.

“Talk to him,” Suzie encouraged her. “He might not ever take that first step, and I don’t want to see you both lose what you had together.”

“Maybe… Maybe I can talk to him tomorrow afternoon when classes are over,” El said.

She felt the butterflies swarming in her stomach at the thought of talking to Mike again after a whole week. El knew she may not be able to fix everything with a snap of her fingers, but she thought that Suzie might have raised some good points. She could not go back to Chicago wondering what could have happened between her and Mike if she had just made the first move to talk to him.


	17. Chapter 17

“Did you think that at the end of our last week of actual camp, it would just be the two of us?” Dustin asked Suzie the next morning at breakfast as he looked at their otherwise empty table.

“Not at all,” Suzie replied, shaking her head. “Is Mike doing any better?”

“He’s still sad and mopey, but I got him to agree to think about talking to El,” Dustin said.

“That’s great!” Suzie exclaimed. “Because El plans on trying to talk to Mike after classes today.”

“Thank god,” Dustin sighed. “Maybe we can have one final week of peace.”

“So much for not meddling,” Suzie laughed, knowing they both pried into Mike and El, trying to get them to agree to talk to one another.

“I think we both knew that rule was not going to last,” Dustin said.

“I really hope they can work it out,” Suzie said.

“You and me both,” Dustin agreed.

While Dustin and Suzie were having breakfast, El was sitting in the grass outside her classroom, her back leaning against the wall of the building as she stared at her phone. She had her texts with Mike on the screen, and her thumbs were hovering over the keyboard but the words would not form. She had told Suzie she would try to talk to him after classes today, but she obviously needed Mike to cooperate for that to happen.

“Come on,” she muttered to herself. “It’s not that hard… Just ask him.”

Hey Mike… Can we talk after classes today? It can be before or after dinner, I don’t care… I just need to talk to you.

El hit send and let out the breath she was holding. She stood up, dropped her phone into the pocket of her shorts, and went into the classroom to begin her campers’ final day.

Throughout the two morning lessons, El couldn’t help but pay extra attention to the feeling of her phone in her pocket, hoping to feel it vibrate against her leg. Every now and then, she slipped it out of her pocket to check the screen to see if she had missed the vibration, but every time the screen was blank. Mike had not texted her back.

Her mind began to race through reasons why Mike may not have texted her back. Maybe he left his phone in his cabin. Or maybe he didn’t feel it vibrate and has been focusing on his campers. El knew the most likely scenario was that he read the text and chose not to respond. Her heart clenched at the thought that he was still ignoring her more than a week later.

During lunch, she hoped to be able to catch Mike and ask him if he had gotten her text, but she was not able to. His classroom this week was closer to the cafeteria than hers was, and as he had all week, Mike had beaten her to the cafeteria, gotten food to go, and gone before El arrived. El got her own tray of food and sat down with Dustin, Suzie, and Kayla, Tom following El shortly after.

“Have you talked to Mike today since breakfast?” El asked Dustin when she was seated.

“No, actually, I haven’t. Why?” Dustin asked.

“I texted him asking if we could talk after classes this afternoon, and he never answered me,” El explained. “I’m just worried that he won’t talk to me.”

“He better not be chickening out,” Dustin muttered. “I’ll try to get ahold of him.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” El sighed.

“Do you know what you’re going to say?” Suzie asked.

“I’m going to apologize for keeping things from him,” El replied. “I’m going to explain that I didn’t mean to hurt him and that I only kept the details from him so he wouldn’t worry about me working with Eric. I’ll tell him that I didn’t know it would upset him this much and that I’ll never lie or hide things from him again… I know I pretty much said all of that already, but he has had time to cool down, so maybe he’ll listen.”

“I hope so,” Suzie smiled sympathetically.

“Me too. I really miss him,” El said, looking down.

“Tell him that, too. And maybe… the other thing…” Suzie suggested, smirking slightly.

“Suzie,” El hissed, nudging her foot under the table.

El hoped Suzie had kept her secret and not told Dustin that she admitted she loved Mike. She really didn’t want a lot of people knowing until Mike himself knew.

“Well, I texted him, but he’s not texting me back,” Dustin said, oblivious to El and Suzie’s interaction because he had been texting Mike. “I’ll see him after classes and make sure he got your text.”

“Thanks, Dustin,” El smiled appreciatively.

The rest of the afternoon passed by, and soon the counselors were saying goodbye to their final group of campers. As Dustin was finishing up cleaning his classroom, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and saw that Mike had finally texted him back.

I’m skipping dinner and going back to the cabin. It read simply. Dustin sighed and shook his head in frustration.

Did you at least text El back? She wants to talk to you. Dustin replied. He waited for a few minutes but received no response, so he decided to go meet up with Suzie and El and let them know that he at least heard from Mike.

A bit later in the cafeteria, Dustin had filled Suzie and El in on his brief exchange with Mike. El could not hide the disappointment on her face, and Suzie did her best to offer a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sure he wants to talk to you. He’s probably just scared,” Suzie said.

“Scared of what? I want to fix things… I’m more scared of leaving next weekend and never speaking to him again,” El said.

“I guarantee Mike does not want that either,” Dustin said affirmatively. “He’s probably overthinking things again. He tends to do that.”

Then, Dustin stood from the table and dumped his trash into a nearby trashcan.

“I’m going to get him some food and go try to talk to him, see what’s on his mind,” Dustin said.

“Okay. Good luck, Dusty-bun,” Suzie said as Dustin leaned down to give her a peck on the lips.

“Thanks, Suzie-poo. I think I’ll need it,” Dustin chuckled and then looked over at El. “I’m going to do my best.”

“I really appreciate it,” El smiled sadly.

Dustin went back to the other side of the cafeteria, grabbed some dinner for Mike in a styrofoam to-go container, and left for their cabin to try and talk to him.

When Dustin arrived at the cabin, he was the only one there. He furrowed his brow and looked around, not seeing Mike anywhere. Dustin checked in the bathroom, and Mike was not there either.

“Son of a bitch,” Dustin muttered. “Where the hell did he go?”

Deeper into the woods, Mike had made the trek along the hiking trail that he and his friends had found earlier in the summer, and he was sitting on the edge of the cliff, his feet dangling over the side as he watched the water coursing below. 

He looked at his phone again and read the text message he had read several times throughout the day.

Hey Mike… Can we talk after classes today? It can be before or after dinner, I don’t care… I just need to talk to you.

Need. Mike had focused on that word all day. El said ‘I need to talk to you,’ not ‘I want to talk to you.’ Something about the urgency in her words made Mike’s stomach flutter. She needed to talk to him. Was that because she needed to try and make sure they were on good terms again before they left camp? Was it because she needed to tell him that she hated him for hurting her? Was Mike reading too much into the word ‘need’?

He absentmindedly picked some of the grass that was growing next to him and tossed it over the side of the cliff. Maybe he should talk to her. Things had been so amazing… before they weren’t. Before Eric. Before his jealousy and anxieties got in the way.

El had made him feel incredible. She was everything he could have dreamed of in a girl and way more. She was smart, she laughed at his dumb jokes, she let him open up and she actually listened to him. She actually saw him as more than just some nerd at science camp, and she got to know who he really was and seemed interested in learning about his hobbies and interests. Hell, she even shared some of his hobbies and interests. It also didn’t hurt that she was breathtakingly beautiful. El was perfect.

Well, mainly perfect. She had still lied to him, after all. Maybe her intentions were in the right place, but that did nothing to soothe the anxiety that Mike felt over it. How could he not drive himself crazy when she goes back to Chicago? How could he not feel jealous of every guy who sees her, talks to her, hits on her? How could he not feel anxious about whether or not El could be hiding something from him? She would be so far away.

But that’s where trust would need to come in. Mike knew that; he wasn’t stupid. Trust was the most important thing in a relationship, especially long-distance relationships. He wanted to trust her again, but he was scared. Mike was scared of a lot of things, actually. 

“I wish I’d never come to this stupid camp,” Mike sighed under his breath as he tossed a pebble into the stream below him.

If he had never come to camp, he would have never met El. He would not be feeling the pain of losing her, and he would not have the image ingrained in his brain of El’s face when he ended things.

But on the other hand, if he had never met El, Mike would have never felt the happiness that he felt all summer. He would have been at home in his basement, tearing himself down over what Stephanie had said to him, scrolling through Stephanie’s Instagram to see how happy she was without him.

Why couldn’t things just be as easy as they were at the start of camp? When he and El had started getting to know each other, everything just flowed so smoothly. Why did things have to change? Why did he have to fuck everything up? Why did El have to lie to him?

Mike wasn’t sure how long he had been sitting up on that cliff, but eventually the sun disappeared behind the trees, and it started to get darker. Just as Mike decided he should start making his way back down the trail and back to his cabin, he heard footsteps and the crunching of dirt and sticks behind him. He looked behind him to see Dustin entering the clearing and walking toward the cliff.

“Dustin?” Mike called, furrowing his brow.

He watched as Dustin carefully climbed up the back of the cliff until he reached the top. Dustin exhaled heavily and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Here’s your dinner, you liar,” Dustin panted, dropping the styrofoam container he was carrying onto Mike’s lap. “I hope it’s cold by now.”

“Dustin, what are you doing here?” Mike asked as Dustin took a seat next to him.

“I should ask you the same thing, Mr. ‘I’m-Skipping-Dinner-And-Going-Back-To-The-Cabin,’” Dustin retorted. “I went to the cabin to talk to you, but you weren’t there. I checked the laundry room, the picnic tables by the volleyball court, the lake. I’ve walked all over this damn camp looking for you.”

“Sorry, I just needed to clear my head,” Mike said.

“Did it work?” Dustin asked.

“No,” Mike sighed.

Dustin nodded with a sympathetic smile and looked down at the stream below them. 

“You know, El was pretty upset that you ignored her text,” Dustin said. “She really wants to make things right with you.”

“I want to make things right with her, too,” Mike said. “That’s all I’ve been thinking about up here. I wish things never changed between us and that my insecurities didn’t get in the way, that I hadn’t been so jealous of Eric, that El didn’t lie to me… I’ve been going back and forth in my head for hours because I know I love her and I don’t want to lose her, but I know in order to not lose her I need to trust her when she is back in Chicago.”

“I know you don’t want to lose her,” Dustin nodded.

“Of course I don’t,” Mike said. “She made me feel better about myself. Like, I didn’t hate what I saw in the mirror, and I wasn’t embarrassed or worried about her judging me or thinking I was too nerdy or whatever… It’s like she took what Stephanie did by leaving me for Troy, and she reversed it or something. I know that might sound stupid-”

“It doesn’t sound stupid,” Dustin quickly interjected. “It felt that way because El liked you for you. She did – and still does – care about you a lot.”

“It’s just really scary to me,” Mike said.

“Long-distance is scary,” Dustin confirmed. “You can’t see each other as much as you’d like. You don’t know what each other is up to all the time, and you really just have to trust each other to respect your relationship. It’s scary, but if your relationship is strong – which yours was – and if you love each other – which I know you love her – then it really does get easier. Plus, it makes the times that you do get to see each other even more special. And El only lives in Chicago. You were planning on making the drive on some weekends anyway. As far as long-distance goes, I know it’s still scary, but it could be a lot scarier if she was farther away.”

“That’s not the only thing that’s scary,” Mike said quietly.

“What do you mean?” Dustin asked, furrowing his brow.

“Long-distance,” Mike said. “Of course, that’s on my mind. El being so far away, not being able to see each other. And I’m scared about my insecurities getting to me again and screwing things up because I won’t know about the guys up there, and I’m scared about being able to trust her… But there’s more to it than that.”

“Like what?” Dustin asked. “Those are all the things you’ve mentioned being worried about.”

“I know, because the rest of it is just hard to explain,” Mike replied.

“Try me,” Dustin said.

“This is going to sound crazy, and I know that, but… I feel like I’m almost scared of letting myself love her and of letting myself be happy with her,” Mike admitted. “Like, she makes me feel amazing, but I can’t help but wonder how long that’s really meant to last. I don’t want to let myself get too happy with her and then have it all taken away.”

“Do you not think you deserve to feel happy and loved?” Dustin asked slowly.

“It’s not that I don’t think I deserve it, it’s just… Shit, I don’t know, Dustin… Putting myself out there and being happy with her, I mean, it’s huge. And the fact that it could end is scary, but the fact that it could work is scary too, and just not knowing what’s going to happen is fucking terrifying,” Mike said.

“That’s what a relationship is, Mike,” Dustin laughed. “No matter how much you trust each other, there is still going to be an amount of unknown because you can’t predict the future. But you’ve got to face that fear and take a leap of faith or you’ll lose her. Do you hear me? You’re going to lose her.”

Dustin’s words rang in Mike’s ears over and over, and Mike felt the realization hit him that Dustin was right. He was going to lose El because he was being stubborn. He needed to talk things out with her and do his best to trust her and have faith in their relationship. He needed to fix this.

“I need to talk to El,” Mike said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Do you still want to talk? Please? he texted her rapidly.

Yes. When and where? came El’s response right away.

Twenty minutes. Our spot. Mike replied and felt the corners of his mouth curl into a smile.

“I gotta go. Thanks for everything, Dustin,” Mike said as he hurried to stand up.

“Any time,” Dustin smiled. “Now go get her!”

Mike hurried ahead after Dustin encouraged him to go by stating he could get back to the cabin himself and Mike needed to get to El. As Mike trekked through the woods, it began getting darker. He furrowed his brow; it normally did not get this dark this early. Mike shook his head and continued through the woods, focused only on getting to El.

El was also on her way through the woods on the opposite side of camp. She had been in her cabin with Suzie and Kayla when she received Mike’s text, and the girls had immediately encouraged her to go, not that she needed to be told. El was ecstatic that Mike was finally willing to talk about everything that had happened between them. 

How was this going to go? El knew she would want to jump into his arms the moment she saw him, squeeze him tightly, kiss him, and tell him she was sorry and would never hide anything from him again. She also knew that pouncing on him may not be the best idea.

Was Mike still upset with her? She knew Tom said that Mike never seemed mad, but El wondered if he was still hurt or upset in any other way. After all, they had not spoken in over a week, and he had ignored her text message all day. Even if he was still upset, El decided that the fact he agreed to talk to her could only be a good sign.

Since jumping on him was realistically out of the question, what was El going to say to him? She could say what she had rehearsed in her head and had told Suzie earlier when Suzie had asked. But El wondered if in the moment something completely different would come out of her mouth. Would she even be doing the talking first? Maybe Mike had things he wanted to say and that’s why he finally responded, willing to talk.

El decided it didn’t matter how long it took, she was going to make sure that Mike knew she was sorry and that things were good between them again. She would listen to anything he wanted to say, and she would let herself speak from the heart.

El had been walking through the woods lost in her thoughts, and she had not been fully paying attention to where she was going. She stopped suddenly and looked around at the darkening woods. Was she still on the right track? She spun around and looked at the trees surrounding her. This area looked familiar, didn’t it? El continued onward, feeling less sure of where she was and hoping that she was going in the right direction.

A few minutes later, El nearly fell when she tripped on a large log laying on the ground. She caught herself and furrowed her brow in confusion. Again, El stood upright and spun around, looking at her surroundings. This wasn’t right. She narrowed her eyes, squinting to see better in the darkness. She must have taken a wrong turn or missed a turn earlier in the path. But how could she find her way out of the woods and to a place she recognized? 

El pulled her phone out of her pocket and tried calling Mike. She watched the screen of her phone as it tried to make the call, but she noticed she currently did not have strong service. Her stomach sank as the call was unable to be made. El swallowed down the panic that was starting to build, and she decided the just walk straight back in the direction from which she had come until she either found herself on a path she recognized or found herself out of the woods. Yes, that would work.

Shortly after El began walking, she heard a low roll of thunder, and her panic built even more. El felt the first raindrop on her head, and soon there was a steady rainfall coming through the trees, clogging up El’s vision even more in the dark woods. She hurried over to a large tree and stood as closely to the trunk as possible, hoping to find some shelter from the rain as she pulled out her phone again.

Mike, I’m lost. I took a wrong turn somewhere. El hit the send button and watched as the message failed to deliver.

“Shit,” she whispered.

El turned on the flashlight on her phone and decided to keep walking. Eventually she would find her way out.

By this point, Mike had arrived and been waiting at their spot for nearly ten minutes. When the rain had started, he moved out of the clearing and tried to use the nearby trees for shelter, but he was still getting soaked as he stood there waiting for El. He looked at his phone again. When they decided to meet up, El had never been this late before.

Are you okay? How far away are you? Mike texted her. He felt his stomach turn when the message failed to deliver.

Mike immediately tried calling El. The phone did not ring, and eventually the call failed. Mike slid his phone back into his pocket and looked around, scanning the edge of the clearing hoping to see El coming through. She was not there.

“Oh shit,” Mike muttered, running a hand through his wet hair.

Where was she? Was she lost? Was she hurt? Did she fall and twist her ankle? Was she laying somewhere in the woods, injured and wet and alone? Mike tried calling her again only for the call to not go through.

“Shit, this is not good,” Mike muttered, shifting from foot to foot as he began to panic.

He had to find her.

Mike took off into the woods toward El’s cabin, hoping to run into her along the way. His mind was racing. He just felt like she was laying somewhere scared and alone, in pain, in the dark, in the middle of a rainstorm. Mike couldn’t help but feel responsible. If he had just talked to her earlier today after classes like she wanted…

He couldn’t think like that. He just had to find her and see that she was safe.

Mike continued through the woods, brushing against wet leaves and branches as he made his way through the trees. His eyes were peeled for any sight of El, but she seemed to be nowhere.

“El?!” he called into the night. “El?! El, where are you?”

El had been making her way through the woods, and she finally stumbled out onto a path. She lost her footing and fell forward, catching herself with her hands as her knees hit the dirt path. El looked around and saw the lake in the distance. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she at least knew where she was.

Then she immediately thought of Mike. He had to have been waiting for her for so long now, and she had not been able to call or text him. Did he think she was standing him up? Did he think she changed her mind? Was he just wet and angry and – 

“El?!” she suddenly heard her name being called faintly. “El?! Can you hear me?”

El sat up on her knees. She knew that voice. He was looking for her.

“Mike?!” she called out as she stood up, the front of her pants covered in mud.

El neared the edge of the path where the trees thickened again and shone her phone’s flashlight into the woods in search of Mike.

“El?!”

“Mike! I’m over here!”

El waved her phone, hoping the light from her flashlight would catch his attention. She still couldn’t see him.

Deeper in the woods, Mike thought he heard El’s voice responding to him and calling his name. He stopped in his tracks and looked around until he finally saw a light moving around. Mike took off toward the light.

“El?!” he called out again.

“Mike?!”

It was her. He knew that voice. Mike ran toward the light until El’s silhouette came into view. As soon as she was within arms’ reach, Mike grabbed her and pulled her against himself, squeezing her tightly and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“Thank god,” he whispered against her wet skin.

El squeezed her eyes shut tightly, letting a couple tears sneak out the corners of her eyes, knowing they would blend in with the rain anyway. She hugged him tightly, never wanting to let go.

“Are you okay?” Mike asked when he finally pulled back. He looked down and saw the mud covering her legs. “Did you fall?”

“Yeah, but I’m okay,” El replied. “Are you okay?”

“So much better now,” Mike said in a sigh of relief. “I thought you were hurt or lost or something.”

“I was lost,” El admitted. “I tried calling and texting you, but nothing would go through.”

“I tried too, but mine wouldn’t go through either,” Mike said. “I’m just so glad you’re okay.”

El was happily surprised when Mike reached for her again and pulled her into another tight embrace.

“Let’s go somewhere dry to talk,” Mike suggested, and El nodded.

Mike took her hand and led her down the path toward the lake, remembering that Dustin had mentioned an equipment shed earlier in the summer. When they reached the shed, Mike pushed the doors open, and the two of them hurried inside, eager to get out of the rain.

With the doors closed, the only sound inside the shed was from the rain hitting the roof. Mike used the flashlight on his phone to look around, and he found a single lightbulb on the ceiling with a cord hanging from it. He tugged on the cord, and the lightbulb dimly illuminated the small shed.

“At least it’s warmer in here,” El said, breaking the silence and trying to keep her teeth from chattering.

“Are you cold?” Mike asked, scanning the room for anything dry that they could change into.

His eyes landed on a plastic tote on the top shelf along the far wall. It seemed to have clothes inside it. Mike reached up and pulled it down, opening it to find several green crewneck sweatshirts that read Camp Know Where Advisor 2018 and several pairs of matching green sweatpants.

“Looks like a box of leftover sweats from last year,” Mike observed.

He pulled out a sweatshirt and pair of sweatpants and handed them to El.

“Here. Put these on so you can warm up,” he said gently.

“Thank you,” El smiled as she took the clothes from him.

Mike pulled out another set of clothes for himself and turned away to change. They both peeled their drenched clothes off and pulled on the warm sweats. El sighed and hugged the sweatshirt closely around her body, warming up immediately.

“Is that better?” Mike asked when he had finished changing.

“Much,” El smiled.

Then, the silence began to set in. El opened her mouth to speak, wanting to start the conversation before things had the chance to become too awkward.

“Mike, I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m sorry for not being completely honest with you. I didn’t want you to worry about me being around Eric, but I know it was wrong. I promise I’ll never lie to you again… I just miss you.”

“I miss you, too,” Mike said softly.

“You do?” El asked hopefully.

“Of course,” Mike replied. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you all week.”

El smiled despite herself.

“I hated that I hurt you, but I was just so worried about being able to trust you in Chicago and worrying that I would drive myself crazy with jealousy and everything,” Mike explained. “At the time, I was trying to convince myself that it would be easier to just end things… But there was nothing easy about this past week.”

“Not at all,” El agreed.

“I’ve been thinking a lot about it, though, and it’s still scary to me… a long-distance relationship, not knowing what could happen,” Mike continued. “But I don’t want my fears to get in the way of what we have.”

“They’re not just your fears, Mike. I’m scared, too,” El said.

“You are?” Mike asked, furrowing his brow.

“Of course. I’ve never been in a long-distance relationship before either,” El replied. “It would be just as new to me as it would be to you. And I hate the idea of you being all the way in Hawkins where I can’t see you every day… But that’s why we made a plan. We’ll text, call, and facetime as often as we can. We’ll visit on weekends and holidays.”

“And those times together will be even more special,” Mike parroted Dustin’s words from earlier.

“Absolutely. I really think we can do it, Mike. We just have to have faith in each other and trust each other,” El said. “I trust you. I’m sorry for damaging your trust in me, and I hope you believe me that I won’t do it again… But to do this, we both need to be all in. Do you think you can trust me again?”

Mike took a deep breath and looked into her hazel eyes which were pleading with him to say yes. El was putting herself out there, completely vulnerable and asking him to trust her and take this leap of faith together.

“Yes. I trust you. The distance will be hard, and I know I’ll probably struggle some with jealousy and anxiety, but we can get through it,” Mike replied.

“If you’re feeling that way, I need you to tell me about it so we can talk,” El said. “And I promise I’ll do a better job of really listening. I’m going to do whatever I can to make this work, Mike. I… I don’t want to lose you.”

Mike thought it seemed like she wanted to say something else.

“This will work. We’ll make it work,” Mike agreed. “And I don’t want to lose you either. El, I…”

He looked into her eyes again, and his entire body warmed in the glow she was giving off. It was now or never.

“I love you,” Mike said slowly.

He watched El’s face for a reaction, and soon her lips formed the most beautiful smile he had ever seen and her eyes rimmed with tears. El jumped forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. Mike laughed as he caught her, holding her around the waist. Their lips met instantly for the first time in over a week. 

El tangled her fingers into his still damp hair and glided her tongue across his bottom lip. When he parted his lips to let her in, he tasted like home to her. 

“Mike,” El whispered against his lips when she pulled back. “I love you, too.”

“You do?” Mike asked softly, his eyebrows raising in surprise.

“Yeah,” El nodded, her smile spanning her whole face. “So much.”

Mike leaned in to connect their lips again and stepped forward, sitting El down on a table along the side of the shed. He ran his fingers through her wet hair and opened his eyes to look into hers while their foreheads rested against one another’s. 

“Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?” he marveled.

“It’s been a while since you’ve told me,” El giggled.

“You are the most beautiful girl in the world,” Mike said, leaning in to kiss her again. “And I’m going to remind you of that every day.”

“I think I can get used to that,” El smiled, wrapping her arms around Mike’s neck again and leading his lips back to hers, where they belonged.


	18. Chapter 18

Mike was on cloud nine. It was like the greatest weight in the world had been lifted. He and El were back together – not only that, but he had told her he loved her, and she loved him too. Somehow, just knowing that El felt the same way that he did helped keep his insecurities away. This wasn’t just a girlfriend who liked him or cared about him a lot. She loved him, and he believed her. 

After they made up in the equipment shed, they had spent a good portion of the evening making up for the week they had been without each other. By the time they realized they should head back to their cabins, the rainstorm had passed, and it was nearly midnight.

Dustin and Suzie had both been waiting in their respective cabins that night, and when Mike and El each walked in to their own cabin carrying damp clothes and wearing green Camp Know Where sweats and uncontrollable smiles, Dustin and Suzie were each able to let out a sigh of relief.

“I’m so glad you guys are back together,” Suzie gushed at breakfast the next day.

El smiled and squeezed Mike’s hand under the table. She was sitting so close to him that their legs were touching, not wanting to lose the feel of his touch again.

“So am I,” Dustin agreed. “I would not have been able to deal with you being that sad back home.”

“Wow, thanks,” Mike chuckled.

“You and Max would’ve been more snippy with each other than normal. It’s really for the greater good of the party that you and El are back together,” Dustin said, and Mike laughed.

“I can’t argue with that,” he admitted. “Max would not have put up with my shit for as long as you did.”

“You’re welcome,” Dustin nodded, and Mike rolled his eyes.

“I have an idea,” Suzie said suddenly, and the other three turned to face her. “We talked a couple weeks ago about facetiming your Hawkins friends. Why don’t we go down by the lake and give them a call and then play some volleyball for old times’ sake?”

“You say ‘old times’ sake’ as if we didn’t play volleyball with you just a few weeks ago,” Dustin chuckled.

“I think it’s a great plan,” El chimed in. “I’d love to meet everyone else.”

When they finished breakfast, the four of them followed the path down toward the lake and gathered around one of the picnic tables. Dustin had texted Lucas right after Suzie made the suggestion and made sure that he, Max, and Will would all be together. Moments later, Dustin was waiting for Lucas to answer the call, and when he finally did, Lucas’s face filled the screen with a big smile.

“Hey guys!” he exclaimed when the call had connected.

“Lucas!” Dustin responded excitedly. “Are Max and Will there with you?”

“Yep,” Lucas replied, shifting his phone to show the other two.

“Hey Dusty-bun! How’s science camp?” asked the redheaded girl who El assumed was Max.

“I told you not to call me that,” Dustin scolded her. “That is for Suzie, and Suzie only.”

“I give Max permission to keep the nickname going strong when I’m not around,” Suzie said through an amused smile.

Dustin immediately snapped his head to look at Suzie, a look of feigned betrayal on his face. He turned slowly back to his phone.

“You all remember Suzie,” he said as Suzie waved over his shoulder at the phone screen.

“Hi guys!” she exclaimed.

“Hi Suzie! How have you been? It’s been forever since Dustin facetimed you with all of us,” Max said.

“I know. But I’ve been great! Dustin and I actually talked about me coming to Hawkins over the holidays this winter, so hopefully I’ll get to meet you all in person soon instead of just getting to see you over facetime, like, once a year,” Suzie said.

“Yeah, Dusty-bun, what’s up with that? Suzie’s great, and you only let us meet her once,” Max said, crossing her arms over her chest.

“I don’t know,” Dustin shrugged. “Time zones, school and work schedules, me not wanting you to corrupt my girlfriend.”

Max flipped off the camera as her mouth curled into a grin.

“Well, Suzie, I hope you are able to come to Hawkins this year. It would be great to meet you in person,” Will finally chimed in.

“Absolutely,” Max agreed as Lucas nodded.

“So, is Mike there with you?” Lucas asked.

“He sure is,” Dustin replied and tilted his phone so Mike was on the screen.

“Wheeler! How was camp? Do you regret letting Dusty-bun talk you into going?” Max asked, and next to Mike Dustin rolled his eyes again.

“Not at all. It’s been amazing, actually,” Mike replied.

“Wow. I didn’t realize you were so passionate about Camp Know Where,” Max chuckled.

“I’m not,” Mike said. “But I want you guys to meet someone.”

Mike scooted over so El could squeeze into the frame, and she smiled and waved at the three people looking back at her.

“Guys, this is my girlfriend, El,” Mike introduced them, and El’s smile naturally brightened when he said the word ‘girlfriend.’

“Girlfriend?!” Max, Lucas, and Will couldn’t help but repeating, and El laughed.

“Yes,” Mike replied.

“You’ve only been there for, like, five weeks, Wheeler. Good job,” Max nodded, and Mike rolled his eyes.

“Ignore her,” Lucas said. “El, I’m Lucas. It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you, too,” El smiled.

“And I’m Will,” said the other boy on the screen. “Are you from anywhere near Hawkins?”

“No, I’m actually from Chicago,” El replied.

“But she’s going to come down to visit sometimes, hopefully,” Mike added.

“I will,” El confirmed with a smile.

“It would be great to meet you in person,” Will said.

“Yeah, so I could have another girl around and not spend all my time with the four of you,” Max quipped.

“Hey!” Dustin exclaimed, turning his phone back to his own face.

“Oh, calm down, you know I’m kidding, Dusty-bun,” Max grinned. “But seriously – oooh I just got an idea! El and Suzie should both come down during the holidays, and we could get to know both of them!”

“That’s actually a great idea,” Lucas said.

“Yeah,” Will agreed.

Everyone seemed to notice the look that Mike and El exchanged with each other.

“We had kind of talked about me going up to Chicago for Christmas,” Mike explained.

“So what I’m hearing is we’re all roadtripping to Chicago this Christmas,” Max said.

“Absolutely not,” Mike replied.

“Aww, come on, it would be fun,” Max continued.

“No,” Mike repeated.

“We’ll figure something out,” Will interjected, wanting to stop Mike and Max’s back-and-forth.

“Definitely,” El smiled, feeling like she would fit in just fine with the rest of Mike’s friends.

They talked for a while longer and caught up with Lucas, Max, and Will, and by the time Dustin hung up, El felt like she would have no problem calling Mike’s friends her friends too. Max seemed to have a strong personality, but El felt like they would mesh well together. She was even more excited about going to Hawkins than she had been all summer.

After hanging up with their Hawkins friends, the four of them moved over to the volleyball court and played until the sun started to set. By then, they had completely lost count of the score and were laughing and having fun together that they had not had in so long.

Mike and Dustin walked with El and Suzie back to the female counselors’ cabin after dinner that night. El cupped the side of Mike’s face and leaned up to kiss him.

“Good night,” she said when she pulled back. “I love you.”

El automatically smiled as she said those words, which made Mike’s heart skip a beat as he immediately smiled back.

“I love you, too,” he said. “Good night.”

The remaining week passed by quicker than any week that summer. During the days, the counselors were responsible for assisting by removing all remaining camp materials from the classrooms and returning them to storage and then thoroughly cleaning the classrooms. They did have more free time than normal, and Mike and El took full advantage of that. The closer they got to the last day, the clingier they became, and by the end of the week, Mike and El were practically attached.

They both awoke on the second-to-last day with a sadness in their hearts. Neither of them had felt gloomy since making up the week before, but this morning it was weighing heavily on both Mike and El that they had only twenty-four hours left together before they each had to go home.

The last of their tasks were completed by noon, and after lunch, the director had a closing presentation in the admin building for the nine remaining counselors. Mike and El filed in with Dustin and Suzie along with their other fellow counselors, and they all took a seat around the tables like they had for the welcome presentation six weeks prior.

“On behalf of all of us at Camp Know Where, I want to thank each of you for choosing to spend your summer here with us, instilling a deeper love of science in the minds of dozens of children,” Katherine began.

While Katherine went on thanking them and discussing the importance of the role the counselors played, Mike could not help but be distracted by El rubbing her leg against his under the table. She was as close to him as she could be, and she reached over to link their fingers together while Katherine droned on.

“I hope you are all aware of the impact you have made on our campers, and I hope you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment for everything you’ve done,” Katherine was saying. “I’m sure for many of you, it was your first time taking charge of a classroom full of students, and by all accounts from the campers I spoke with, you all did a phenomenal job.”

Next to Mike, El sighed heavily, growing less patient as the director continued to eat up time during their final day.

“I urge all of you to consider coming back and joining us next year at Camp Know Where,” Katherine offered. “Thank you for being a part of our summer. Have fun at the bonfire tonight, and have a safe trip home tomorrow.”

After Katherine released them, Mike, El, Dustin, and Suzie agreed that it would be a good idea to return to their respective cabins and pack all of their belongings so they did not have to worry about packing after the bonfire or waking up early and packing before leaving in the morning. The four of them agreed to meet back up for the farewell bonfire.

It seemed that Tom had the same idea of packing during the afternoon, because when Mike and Dustin arrived to their cabin, Tom had his suitcase opened on his bed and his closed spread out on his sheets.

“Well, tonight is our last night,” Dustin sighed as he pulled open his drawer in the dresser and tossed his clothes out of it and toward his bed.

“I know,” Mike said sadly.

“And it wasn’t as awful as you thought it was going to be, was it?” Dustin asked.

“I never thought it was going to be awful,” Mike chuckled. “I was just upset about what happened with Stephanie.”

“This is a great place to forget about life back home and just clear your head. And, of course, meet new people,” Dustin smirked.

“Honestly, meeting El has made this the best six weeks of my life,” Mike admitted. “Leaving tomorrow is really going to suck.”

“Didn’t I tell you on day one that by the time it was time to leave, we would have to pull you and El away from each other,” Dustin reminded him with a grin.

“I guess you were right,” Mike sighed.

“Of course I was right,” Dustin said.

Just then, Tom crossed the cabin to join Mike and Dustin. It was just the three of them, as Eric was out somewhere with Nikki.

“It was cool getting to know you guys these past couple weeks,” Tom said.

“You too,” Dustin said. “Do you think you’ll be a counselor again next year?”

“I don’t know,” Tom replied. “I love science, but the fact that there is mandatory P.E. pretty much means there will always be at least one Jason or Eric, and I just feel like I could find programs to do that incorporate science but don’t require me to deal with that.”

“That’s fair,” Dustin nodded.

“Will you two be back next year?” Tom asked.

“For sure,” Dustin answered immediately. “I won’t miss out of six weeks with Suzie.”

“I don’t think I’ll be back,” Mike replied. “It was fun, and I wouldn’t trade meeting El for the world. But I’d rather spend my summer exploring Chicago with her.”

“Guess I’ll be a lone wolf again unless I can convince Lucas or Will to join me,” Dustin sighed.

“Good luck with that,” Mike laughed.

“Well, since I won’t really be seeing you guys for much longer, why don’t I give you my number for if you’re ever near Indy,” Tom suggested.

“Yeah, for sure,” Mike said, pulling out his phone. “And if you’re ever near Hawkins for whatever reason, feel free to let us know, too.”

Tom exchanged phone numbers with both Mike and Dustin, and the three of them finished packing their bags for their final night.

In the female counselors’ cabin, El, Suzie, Kayla, and Dani were all packing while Nikki was out with Eric.

“Packing things up really makes everything feel even sadder,” El said.

“It does,” Suzie agreed. “I was sad last year when I had to leave Dustin, but this year is even worse having to leave you, too.”

El smiled and nodded. She and Suzie had become good friends over the summer, and El was certainly sad to be parting ways tomorrow.

“You’re welcome to come to Chicago any time,” El said.

“Thanks,” Suzie smiled. “And you can come to Salt Lake City, too. It’s not as exciting as Chicago, but you are more than welcome.”

“We can definitely try to work something out,” El smiled.

“I wanted to thank you guys for being so nice to me and helping me through everything this summer,” Kayla chimed in as she walked over toward Suzie and El’s bunks.

“You really don’t have to thank us. We were happy to help,” El said.

“Absolutely. I’m so glad you were able to stay, too,” Suzie added.

“Me too,” Kayla said. “I’m glad I got to know you two.”

Kayla exchanged phone numbers with El and Suzie, and the three of them agreed to keep in touch. 

A short while later, Nikki came into the cabin looking flushed. She rummaged through her drawer and pulled out clean clothes before walking wordlessly to the bathroom and turning on the shower. El, Suzie, and Kayla all noticed the hurt expression on Dani’s face, as they all knew Nikki had been out with Eric.

“I can’t wait to get out of here,” Dani said.

“You really are a nice girl, Dani, and you deserve better friends than Nikki anyway,” El said. “And you definitely deserve way better than Eric. You have a good heart, and you are too good for guys like that.”

Dani responded with an appreciative smile but did not say anything.

Later that night, all nine counselors met up at the lake where the advisors were supervising a bonfire and preparing dinner like they had earlier in the summer. Mike, El, Dustin, and Suzie hung out on the rocks by the lake until one of the advisors called out that dinner was ready.

After dinner, they sat around the fire and made smores. As the sun lowered more and more until it disappeared, the pit in El’s stomach continued to grow. She didn’t want to say goodbye to Mike. She linked her arm through his and rested her head on his shoulder as she stared ahead at the crackling flames. El smiled when she felt Mike lean in to kiss the top of her head.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked her quietly.

“Tomorrow morning,” El sighed. “I don’t want to leave you.”

“I don’t want to leave you either,” Mike said. “But we still have all night.”

El lifted her head up and met Mike’s eyes. She thought she knew where he was going with this, but she wanted to confirm.

“Do you want to sneak out to our spot one last time tonight?” she asked.

“Actually, I had a slightly different plan tonight,” Mike grinned.

He took El’s hand and pulled her up, and the two of them slipped out of view and started walking up the path away from the lake. El realized they were going toward the male counselors’ cabin, and she looked up at Mike with a questioning expression. When they finally arrived at the cabin, they stopped outside the front door, and Mike turned to face her.

“This is our last night together until who knows when. I don’t want to sneak out for a few hours and then sneak back in. I want to spend the night with you. The whole night,” Mike explained. “So, I was thinking we could take our pillows and blankets and go to our spot now and stay there all night. What do you think?”

“I think I love that plan,” El smiled.

The thought crossed her mind about getting in trouble with the advisors or director if they were caught breaking curfew for the whole night, but El reasoned that it was their last night anyway, so it wasn’t like the director could kick them out or really even discipline them.

Mike grabbed his pillow and blanket from his bunk, and then he and El walked to the female counselors’ cabin so El could get hers. Then, they made their way through the darkened woods to their spot one last time.

They laid one of the blankets down on the ground to cover the grass, and then they used the other blanket to cover themselves up. At first, Mike and El laid peacefully together, sandwiched between their blankets, looking up at the night sky. El’s head was resting on Mike chest, and Mike was tracing his fingers up and down her back. She felt him kiss the top of her head again, and then El propped herself up on her elbow to connect her lips with his.

Mike slowly deepened the kiss, rolling onto his side and weaving his fingers into El’s soft, wavy hair. Their kisses became more desperate, and soon everything faded away other than the feel, taste, and smell of each other.

It was not long before their clothes were tossed to the side and Mike and El were tangled together, wrapped up in their blankets. This would be their last night together until who knows when, and they were kissing like they never wanted to stop.

Mike was on top of her, one hand in her hair and the other gently tracing over her soft skin. El’s fingers were pressing into the bare skin on Mike’s back, and her legs were wrapped around his waist, holding him tightly against herself.

She didn’t want this night to end. El wanted to memorize how every inch of him felt against her, how sweet his lips tasted, the soft sound of moans that would escape Mike’s mouth into her own while they kissed. She knew they would not be able to be together like this again for weeks, maybe even months. 

Mike’s kisses trailed from El’s lips down to her neck, and El sighed contentedly.

“I love you,” Mike breathed against her neck in between sucking on the soft skin.

“I love you, too,” El squeaked out.

She knew she loved him, and laying there underneath him, knowing they were as close together as they would be for a long time, made her realize that she wanted even more. She wanted him, all of him.

“Mike,” El whimpered.

“Yeah?” Mike whispered.

“I want you,” El said.

“I want you, too, El,” Mike replied, going back to sucking on her neck.

“No, I… I want… I’m ready,” El said.

Mike stopped at those words and lifted his head so his face hovered over hers. El was biting her bottom lip and looking up at him with the most vulnerable look on her face that Mike had ever seen. She was already driving him wild.

“You – you’re ready? Like, you mean, you’re ready?” Mike asked, and El nodded her head. “El, we don’t have to do this just because it’s our last night.”

“I know we don’t have to,” El said. “I want to, Mike… Do you want to?”

“Y-yeah, absolutely,” Mike said immediately, glancing up and down her body and landing back on her eyes. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure,” El said softly as she nodded.

Then she paused and bit her bottom lip again, almost looking bashful.

“Just, um, go slow?” she added, and Mike could see her cheeks blush in the moonlight.

“Of course,” Mike said. “And if it hurts or you want to stop, just tell me, and I’ll stop.”

El nodded, staring into his eyes with love, desire, and now gratitude for how delicately he was handling her feelings about this. She felt her heart begin to pound with anticipation, and those damn butterflies swarmed in her stomach as Mike began to position himself.

She took a deep breath and let it out before looking up at Mike who seemed to be awaiting her signal. El gave him a nod, and Mike smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly. Then, El began to fill with so much passion and pleasure that she thought she would burst. Her nerves faded almost immediately. It was ecstasy, it was beautiful, and it was perfect.

El woke up the next morning laying on her side with Mike spooning her from behind. She curled herself closer into him and gently ran her fingers up and down his forearm that was draped over her waist. The rays from the sun were beginning to shine through the trees above them, and El knew they would have to get up soon.

She rolled over to her other side to face Mike who was still sleeping, and El raised her hand to gently brush his hair away from his eyes. Cupping his cheek with one hand, she leaned in and kissed the tip of his nose. As Mike began to stir, El moved lower and gently kissed his lips. A moment later, she felt him return the kiss.

“Good morning,” Mike murmured against her lips as his eyes opened.

“Good morning,” El smiled back at him.

“What time is it?” Mike asked, stretching his arms while he rolled onto his back.

“7:30,” El replied after checking her phone which was laying in the grass next to their makeshift bed.

Mike groaned and pulled El closer. She responded by wrapping her arm around his waist and squeezing him as she laid her head on his chest. They laid together for as long as they could before they had to get up and go back to their cabins.

An hour and a half later, all nine counselors were in the parking lot preparing to leave. Nikki wasted no time tossing her luggage in the back of her mom’s car and leaving. Eric was careful to avoid Dani as he loaded his bags into his dad’s truck and left.

Mike, El, Dustin, and Suzie said goodbye to Kayla and Tom as both of them loaded up their belongings and left with their families. Soon, it was just the four of them left to leave.

Mrs. Henderson was standing next to Suzie’s Uber, talking with Suzie and Dustin about their summer. Mike and El could hear Dustin talking to his mom about Suzie coming to stay with them for Christmas. A few minutes later, Mrs. Henderson returned to her vehicle to wait patiently while her son said goodbye to his girlfriend.

“Here we are, saying goodbye again,” Dustin sighed.

“It’s harder this year than it was last year,” Suzie pouted.

“I know,” Dustin said. “But we will see each other for Christmas. We will.”

“What if my parents don’t let me go to Hawkins?” Suzie asked.

“Then I’ll go to Utah and sneak through your window,” Dustin replied.

“Dusty-bun,” Suzie chuckled. “You can’t sneak into my bedroom.”

“I can if your parents try to keep you away from me for a whole year again,” Dustin said. “But I bet you can convince them.”

“I’ll do my best,” Suzie smiled.

Dustin leaned in to kiss her, and Suzie immediately wrapped her arms around his neck to deepen it.

While Dustin and Suzie were saying goodbye, El spotted her Aunt Becky’s van and waved at her aunt who was sitting in the driver’s seat. Then she turned to face Mike and looked up into his eyes.

“Will you walk over there with me? I want you to meet my aunt,” El said.

“Yeah, okay,” Mike replied, taken slightly off guard.

El and Mike walked over to where Becky was parked, and Becky stepped out of the van as they approached.

“Hi, sweetheart,” Becky said as she wrapped her arms around El.

“Hi, Aunt Becky,” El said against her aunt’s shoulder.

“How was camp?” Becky asked when she had pulled back.

“It was incredible,” El replied. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

Mike had been standing behind El while she greeted her aunt, and then El suddenly took his hand and pulled him next to her.

“Mike, this is my Aunt Becky. Aunt Becky, this is my boyfriend Mike,” El introduced them.

Mike noticed Becky’s eyes widen slightly at the introduction, but he smiled politely at the woman.

“It’s nice to meet you,” Mike said.

“It’s nice to meet you, too, Mike,” Becky smiled.

Becky then turned to El and gave her a look which El knew meant that Becky wanted all the details as soon as they were in the van.

“I’ll put your bags in the back while you two say goodbye,” Becky said as she took El’s luggage to the back of the van.

“There’s one more person I want you to meet,” El said to Mike when her aunt had stepped away.

El led Mike over to the side door of the van and opened it to reveal a woman with a blank expression on her face sitting in a wheelchair where there would normally be a second row of seating.

“Mama,” El said gently, kneeling next to her mother and taking her hand. “Mama, it’s Jane. I’m coming home today.”

Terry’s eyes rolled over to land on El’s face, and El felt her mother faintly squeeze her hand.

“I had a wonderful summer, and I can’t wait to tell you and Aunt Becky all about it,” El smiled. “But before we go home, I want you to meet someone, Mama.”

El turned to Mike and gestured for him to join her at the edge of the van, which he did.

“Mama, this is Mike. He’s very special to me, and I really think you would like him,” El said. “He’s sweet, caring, and so respectful. He’s everything I know you would want for me, and I love him, Mama. So I wanted you to meet him.”

Terry showed no signs that she heard anything El had said. Mike scooted closer to El and reached forward to place his hand on top of Terry and El’s hands which were clasped together.

“Your daughter is the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and I love her, too. I’m going to do anything I can to prove that every day,” Mike said softly, and next to him El’s smile was stretching over her whole face.

Mike was about to pull his hand away when he felt Terry squeeze El’s hand underneath his own. When he looked back up at Terry’s face, her eyes were fixed on him. He held eye contact with her briefly, and somehow Mike felt as though he had received Terry’s approval. Then, Terry’s eyes were straight ahead again and the blank expression was on her face once more.

Mike and El stepped away from the van to say goodbye. Neither of them wanted to start. Suddenly, El threw her arms around Mike’s neck and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’m going to miss you so much,” she said against his ear.

“I’m going to miss you, too,” Mike said softly. “I’m probably going to text you so much you’ll have to turn your phone off.”

El laughed and shook her head as she pulled back from the hug.

“I wouldn’t do that,” she said.

They stood in silence, each waiting for the other to speak, but neither wanting to be the one to say goodbye. From the other side of the parking lot, they heard Dustin call Mike’s name.

“I guess I’ve… got to get going,” Mike said sadly.

“Yeah,” El nodded, her eyes filling up with tears.

“Hey, it’ll be okay,” Mike said gently, pulling El against him and wrapping his arms around her. “We’ll be okay. We’re going to call and facetime each other, and we’ll plan a weekend visit and see each other in no time.”

“I know,” El sniffled against him. “I’m still going to miss you.”

Mike smiled and squeezed her even tighter.

“You’ve made this the best summer of my life,” he said. “I’m so happy we met, and I know this is going to work, El.”

“I know it will,” El agreed, looking up at him. “Will you call me tonight?”

“Of course,” Mike replied. “Have a safe drive back home.”

“You too,” El said.

Mike leaned down to kiss her, and El did her best to hold on to the moment. Reluctantly, Mike pulled back after a few moments.

“I love you,” he said.

“I love you, too,” El replied.

They begrudgingly let go of each other, and El climbed into the passenger seat of her aunt’s van. She waved at Mike through the window as her aunt turned on the engine and put it in drive. Mike waved back and stood watching as Becky drove El away.

He walked back to Mrs. Henderson’s vehicle where Dustin had already loaded both his and Mike’s bags, and Mike crawled into the back seat.

“You doing okay?” Dustin asked from the front seat as his mom started to drive out of the parking lot.

“I will be,” Mike sighed.

“It sucks, but it does get easier,” Dustin assured him.

Just then, Mike felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to see a text message from El.

Aunt Becky said you’re welcome to stay with us any time! Which is great because I miss you already xoxo

Mike smiled to himself and texted her back.

I miss you too, and I can’t wait!

He set his phone in the cupholder next to him and leaned his head against the window, watching the trees as they drove away from Camp Know Where. Mike couldn’t believe that he had come here just six weeks ago looking to escape from his homelife and the pain of an ex-girlfriend. He never would’ve believed what was waiting for him at that camp.

“Hey Dustin,” Mike said, and Dustin turned around to face him.

“What’s up?” Dustin asked.

“I just wanted to thank you for talking me into coming with you this year,” Mike said. “Best decision of my life.”

Dustin smiled knowingly and nodded.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

Soon, Camp Know Where faded behind them, but Mike had found something at that summer camp that he knew could withstand miles, jealousy, and anything else. He had found love, and he had every intention of keeping it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. I hope you all liked it. I did notice, looking back over it, that the words I had written in italics on Word did not transfer over as italics. So, all the text messages should've been italicized to show they were text messages. I'm sorry that didn't transfer over, and I hope it didn't become too confusing. As always, thank you for reading and let me know what you think! I am excited that the next thing I post on here will be chapter 1 of a brand new project, so be on the lookout for that. Thanks!


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